Collection Guide
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Dennis (Douglas) collection
M1843
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: The Douglas "Swede" Dennis Collection
source:
Padgett, Abigail
Identifier/Call Number: M1843
Physical Description:
3.5 Linear Feet
: 7 manuscript boxes
Date (inclusive): 1988-2009
Physical Location: Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36 hours in advance. For more information
on paging collections, see the department's website: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html.
Abstract: Correspondence between Angola inmate Douglas Dennis and others, especially attorney and prison reform advocate Robert Perske.
Open for research. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
This collection was purchased by Stanford University, Special Collections in 2011.
[identification of item], Douglas "Swede" Dennis Collection, M1843. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives,
Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Correspondence between Angola inmate Douglas Dennis and attorney and prison reform advocate Robert Perske from 1993 until
Dennis' death in 2009. Douglas B. "Swede" Dennis, who was born in Chicago in 1935, was arrested for vagrancy while hitchhiking
in Louisiana in 1957. In an altercation at the Shreveport City Jail he killed his cellmate and was sentenced to the notorious
Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Dennis killed another inmate there and received a second life sentence, but escaped
and lived as as a fugitive for ten years. Upon his capture he was sent back to Angola, and becamer a reporter for The Angolite,
the prison magazine. Towards the end of his life he sought a pardon due to old age and health issues, but was denied. Also
included are letters to and from San Diego author Abigail Padgett, who knew Dennis for 18 years, and Arnold Schrank.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Prisons -- Louisiana -- Angola
Prison reform
Perske, Robert
Crane, Richard
Dennis, Douglas
Schrank, Arnold
Padgett, Abigail
Padgett, Abigail
Louisiana State Penitentiary