The first scoundrel hung was a teacher named Crane (John or Jerry … first name is not clear). Crane was executed because he killed one of his students he was in love with! The second hanging involved a man named Mickey Free. Mickey was part of a cutthroat gang that robbed Chinese camps and murdered miners.
The remains of the jail house today are quite incomplete … the walls, doors and windows hardly recognizable. Since the jail house is part of the California State Park in Coloma, the structure remains as a reminder of the gold mining days and steadfast justice as it was back then.
