Sky Blue Waters Press/Jerry's Riot

J E R R Y ' S . R I O T . A . S T O R Y . O F . D A N G E R . A N D . I N T R I G U E . I N . 1 9 5 9

¶ Jerry Myles, far left, had a teenage accomplice named Lee Smart who had dreams of escaping prison and hitting the open road. He was an impulsive murderer. Although years apart in age, Myles and Smart were both psychopaths and much the same person. The third ringleader was George Alton, who went along with the riot until he discovered Myles' brags of an escape were false. Alton was Smart's cellmate.

SKY BLUE WATERS PRESS

Where the heck is Deer Lodge?

A valley of rich history lies in western Montana at the heart of the Rocky Mountain Front. Deer Lodge, an early mining center, is about 40 miles northwest of Butte on I-90, and about 80 miles southeast of Missoula. To the southwest about 25 miles is Anaconda. Helena is to the northeast about 60 miles. Bozeman, Kalispell, Great Falls and Billings are farther. Anyone traveling to Glacier National Park or Yellowstone National Park will find Deer Lodge about halfway in between. (At some point we'll get a map on the site to show you.) Deer Lodge is home to Montana State Prison, and of course it's my hometown. The town, now about 3,500 residents, got its name from Indians who called it "lodge of the white-tailed deer."

April 16, 1959, Deer Lodge, Montana

Headlines called it one of America's most spectacular prison riots. Over three days in April 1959, an unblinking nation followed a story more captivating than fiction, more arresting than television drama. The riot held a small western Montana town hostage. It made news across the country and even in London. And yet, for all the publicity, the biggest story was never told. To order Jerry's Riot CLICK HERE

What's being said about Jerry's Riot: The True Story of Montana's 1959 Prison Disturbance:

¶ "You can read (or watch) Shawshank Redemption forty times and learn less of real prison life in the era than in a chapter of this book." True crime reviewer Laura James.

¶ "The author’s commitment to symbolic factual detail, together with his excavation of official records and revival of faded memories, bolster a convincing narrative that takes the reader on an ultimately explosive journey." Journalist David P. Conley, PhD.

¶ "It was absolutely refreshing to at last read a prison story that really told it like it is." Bob McNally, a guard at Montana State Prison for 32 years.

¶ "It is the best book I ever read in my life and I am a heavy reader. So informative, such interesting data, descriptions. I felt I know the guys you wrote about." Bill Fenton of Butte, Montana.

¶ "Occasionally I will become so involved in a book that my free time is spent reading it and your book is one of them. Reading page one I knew your book would hold me captive (pardon my pun). Your book is excellent and I'm glad I decided to give it a try." John Bayduss of Baytown, Texas.

What is Jerry's Riot?

¶ The 445-page book, written by Montana native Kevin S. Giles, is the inside story of a disturbing riot during an era of extensive prison violence in America. This true crime book examines in revealing detail the explosion that resulted in Deer Lodge, Montana, when former Alcatraz Island convict Jerry Myles collided with reform warden Floyd Powell. Jerry's Riot takes the reader inside the prison walls to visit the lives of guards and inmates who experienced the riot. The book contains the only reconstruction of the riot from beginning to end. The story is built around Myles, the riot's principal ringleader, drawing extensively on federal and state records and the author's interviews with hostages, prisoners and others who were involved.

The 1896 cellhouse as it looked in the early days at Montana State Prison. It was torn down after the riot in 1959.

Who were the culprits?

Old Montana Prison is now a museum. The 1912 cellhouse housed men on eight galleys. Hostages during the 1959 riot were locked in three cells on the far left of the giant structure.