Felons & Criminals Trivia

1. After being convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, how many times did Japanese prisoner Yoshie Shiratori escape?

From Quiz Time Flies When You're on the Run

Answer: Four

Yoshie Shiratori was convicted of murder and sentenced to life plus 23 years in prison early in the 20th century. Shiratori's first escape occurred in 1936. He was re-captured and sent to a different prison where he escaped in 1942. Upon his re-capture, he was sent to a third prison where it is said that he escaped by rusting his handcuffs with soup. In 1946, he was sentenced to death, so he dug a tunnel and escaped for the fourth time. He was recaptured in 1948, his death sentence was revoked and he eventually served 26 years before being paroled in 1961.

From Quiz Held In The Tower

Answer: Flora MacDonald

Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie and The Young Pretender, led the uprising which attempted to overthrow George II in 1745, culminating in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. MacDonald assisted in disguising Stuart as an Irish maid and securing his passage from the Outer Hebrides to the Isle of Skye, an act for which she was imprisoned initially in the Tower, although she was eventually allowed to reside outside the Tower under supervision. She was released in 1747 and the tale of Bonnie Prince Charlie's escape is told in "The Skye Boat Song"(1888).

From Quiz Clickety Click

Answer: Nevada

The robbery took place in Reno, NV. The robbers were told that the train was carrying about $60,000 in gold, so they planned the heist. The gang found about $41,000 in gold weighing more than 150 lbs. They missed another $15,000 in gold and about $8,000 in silver hidden on the train. All of the robbers were caught or killed within days of the heist.

From Quiz Your Hands Are Tied

Answer: piracy

Little is known about Anne Bonny's early years but she was probably born between 1697 and 1700 in Ireland. Her family moved to America when she was young; as a teenager she and James Bonny moved to Nassau. She became a pirate's mistress, then a pirate herself, finally being captured by the British in 1720. She avoided hanging only because she was pregnant. She and shipmate Mary Read were the only two women accused of piracy in the 18th century.

From Quiz Beyond the Law

Answer: Queen Ann Bassett

Ann Bassett was the daughter of a cattle rancher and her father's ranch was on the Colorado, Wyoming & Utah border. From an early age she was romantically linked with Butch Cassidy and her sister Josie was linked with other members of his gang. In the mid 1890's some cattle barons tried to buy the ranch and when that didn't work they tried to muscle the Barrett sisters out of their ranch. Ann's ties to Butch Cassidy and his "Wild Bunch" were enough to keep the cattle barons at bay and allow the ladies to keep their ranch.

From Quiz I've Got a Crush on You

Answer: California

After Richard Farley shot and killed nine people and wounded four others after years of stalking fellow employee Laura Black, the state of California enacted some of the most stringent stalking laws in the nation. Within three years of California passing the first stalking law, all 50 states in the nation had passed laws of their own.A movie starring Brooke Shields and Richard Thomas was made about the incident and was called "I Can Make You Love Me". In Britain it was called "The Stalking of Laura Black". Richard Farley was still sitting on death row 20 years later.

From Quiz Bats in the Belfry

Answer: Ronald DeFeo, Jr.

On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr., shot and killed his mother, father, two brothers, and two sisters while they were asleep in their beds. According to psychiatrists, he had antisocial personality disorder. Unfortunately, they also say that he was completely aware of what he was doing. Then, in 1975, George and Kathy Lutz moved into the same house. After an extremely bizarre and terrifying 28 days, they and their children vacated the house and left all their belongings. They refused to set foot inside again. Their story is now the famous "Amityville Horror." (1979 & 2005) Perry Smith and Richard Hickock were the killers of "In Cold Blood", a book released in 1966, which is also based on a true story.

From Quiz Cyber Criminals

Answer: Lamo

Adrian Lamo has since retired from the "dark side" of computing. He spent some time as a successful and award winning journalist. In an anecdote reminiscent of the hacker character, portrayed in the film "Swordfish" by Hugh Jackman, Lamo infiltrated the NBC network, on camera, in less than five minutes. Consequently, NBC canceled his scheduled spot with Tom Brokaw.

From Quiz Crimes of the 20th Century

Answer: Belle Gunness

Nobody really knows what happened to Belle Gunness. It is said that she took her false teeth and sat them next to a decapitated female victim, having her male partner, Lamphere, start fire to the corpse and her farm. Police were led to believe the corpse was her, but Lamphere put doubt in their mind.

From Quiz Taken In By The Scam Artist

Answer: Co-Pilot for Pan Am

He started out by altering the birthdate on his driver's license, and then embellished his education record, but his dreams of getting better paying jobs fell short. He noticed that airline pilots were treated with respect and awe so he set his sights on impersonating one to aide his check kiting schemes.

From Quiz Last Words

Answer: George Appel

Before being executed in the electric chair in New York in 1928, convicted murderer George Appel said, "Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel."

From Quiz Depression Era Bandits # 2

Answer: Shot by a local officer

Teague was caught in a crossfire and accidentally shot by the local cop. This would be one of the many deaths attributed to the Dillinger Gang

From Quiz Depression Era Bandits #3

Answer: Eleanor Jarman

The beautiful but deadly Jarman was actually more successful as a criminal then the infamous Bonnie Parker. Captured in 1936, she escaped four years later, never to be seen again.

From Quiz Colorful Depression Era Bandits

Answer: John Dillinger

Dillinger, Makley, Pierpont, and Clark were all arrested while vacationing together in Tucson, Arizona.

From Quiz Crime in the USA

Answer: 7

The only survivor was a dog!

From Quiz Time Flies When You're on the Run

Answer: He was shot by law enforcement officers.

Dillinger actually escaped from prison twice. After being incarcerated for bank robbery the first time, fellow inmates who had escaped returned disguised as official prison authorities and had him released into their custody. He continued to rob banks after this first escape, but was caught and imprisoned in Crown Point Jail in 1934. Police boasted that the jail was escape proof, but Dillinger proved otherwise. Dillinger captured and imprisoned his own guards using a fake pistol that he had made. John Dillinger travelled to Chicago where police received a tip that resulted in a shootout. He was shot three times by police and declared dead at the scene.

From Quiz Held In The Tower

Answer: Robert Walpole

Walpole was MP for King's Lynn when he was accused of venality (capable of being bribed) and corruption. He was found guilty and as well as being sent to the Tower, was also expelled from Parliament. Following his release he stood once again for election in King's Lynn and was re-elected, being appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1715, a post he held until 1717. In 1721, following a corruption scandal within the government, he was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons, in effect becoming the first Prime Minister, a position he held until 1742 when he resigned.

From Quiz Clickety Click

Answer: Jesse James

James was a legend in the "Wild West". The leader of the James-Younger gang; they were known for local crimes before they moved up to robbing trains. For the first robbery, July 21, 1873, the gang killed a train engineer and stole about $3,000 from the train. James was killed in 1882.

From Quiz As Crooked as a Dog's Hind Leg

Answer: she was wearing her wedding veil

Hinton had left for Florida after the identity theft warrant was issued, but the police had a tip that she would be returning for her wedding. Hinton was married on Saturday and was arrested, booked and then released on bond. Police had offered her the opportunity to change before the mug shots were taken, but she declined. She did not turn up the following Monday for her arraignment, and was then reported as the "Runaway Bride". A judge issued a new warrant and set bond at $100,000. She was then detained the following day while leaving a local hospital. After she pled guilty, Hinton spent 122 days in jail. Apparently the marriage did not survive the time that she spent incarcerated.

From Quiz Your Hands Are Tied

Answer: Adolf Eichmann

Otto Adolf Eichmann was taken into custody (under a false name) by U.S. forces at the end of World War II but escaped and eventually made his way to Argentina. He was captured by Israeli Mossad agents, brought back to Israel, found guilty of many war crimes and hanged. He is the only person to be executed in Israel after a civilian court conviction.

From Quiz I've Got a Crush on You

Answer: Japan

The stalking murder of Shiori Ino shocked the people of Japan. She and her family had attempted numerous times to report the man who was stalking her and sending unwanted gifts. The Japanese government took the position that by not making every effort to return the gifts that were left for her, she had led the unwanted suitor on. They also attempted to cover up their own responsibility. The stalking laws in Japan were changed immediately after this incident.

From Quiz Bats in the Belfry

Answer: Charles Manson

Manson planned to kill them all, but was caught before he had the chance. Unfortunately, it was too late for at least eight other adults and one unborn child. Sharon Tate (then-wife to Roman Polanski) was eight months pregnant at the time of her murder. Manson's cult members used extreme overkill with a total of seven gunshot wounds (three victims), 13 blows to the head (one victim), and nearly 200 stab wounds (all eight victims). None of the victims survived. Manson and three of his cult members were sentenced to death. However, California abolished the death penalty in 1972 and their sentences were amended to concurrent life sentences. Each of them has appealed numerous times and they have all been denied every time.

From Quiz Crimes of the 20th Century

Answer: Leonardo Da Vinci

In Florence, Italy, Leonardo Da Vinci spent four years painting "The Mona Lisa". For four centuries, she made her home in France. On August 20, 1911, her place on the wall of the Louvre Museum was bare. Several years after the theft, an Italian man named Vincenzo Peugia, was trying to sell her to an art dealer in Italy and was arrested. On January 4, 1914, the painting found its home again on the wall of the Louvre.

From Quiz Taken In By The Scam Artist

Answer: $200,000

He boarded the Seattle-bound plane in Portland and, after receiving his ransom and parachutes, jumped from the plane while at an altitude of 10,000 feet. His fate and identity remain unknown to this day and seemed to be a thorn in J. Edgar Hoover's side when the FBI couldn't get their man.

From Quiz Last Words

Answer: Karla Faye Tucker Brown

Tucker was sentenced to death in 1984. While on death row, Tucker became a born-again Christian and married by proxy the prison chaplain, Dana Lane Brown, whom she was allowed to see during the marriage ceremony only through a acrylic glass barrier. The Governor of Texas was asked for clemency, and a great number of the religious right recommended this option. However, on February 3, 1998, Karla Faye Tucker was executed by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:45, the first woman to be executed in Texas since the Civil War.

From Quiz Depression Era Bandits # 2

Answer: They robbed a train and fled in an airplane

Karpis had purchased the airplane and had it standing by with a willing---and highly paid--- pilot.

From Quiz Depression Era Bandits #3

Answer: Adam Richetti

Though all four men were suspected, Richetti would be convicted on circumstantial evidence and executed in the gas chamber in 1938.

From Quiz Depression Era Bandits #1

Answer: Whip-it

Clyde had a particular fondness for the Browning Automatic Rifle. He sawed off the stock and half of the barrel on one example to make it invisible under a coat. This was called his whip-it due to the fact he could whip it out at the first sign of trouble.

From Quiz Colorful Depression Era Bandits

Answer: Clyde Barrow

Clyde wrote - "Dear Sir: - While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make." The robber went on to say that he "drove Fords exclusivley when I could get away with one" and that "even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8."

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Last Updated Nov 29 2025 5:52 AM

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