''I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!'' (1932) is a book written by veteran

Robert Elliott Burns Robert Elliott Burns (May 10, 1892 – June 5, 1955) was an American World War I veteran known for escaping from a Georgia chain gang and publishing a memoir, '' I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!'', exposing the cruelty and injustice of th ...

and published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book recounts Burns' imprisonment on a

chain gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

in Georgia in the 1920s, his subsequent escape to New Jersey, and the furor that developed. The story was first published in January 1931, serialized in ''True Detective Mysteries'' magazine. Later that year, Burns's story was adapted as the motion picture '' I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang'', starring

Paul Muni Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895– August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. Muni was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in ...

. The book and movie were both credited with contributing to Governor

Ellis Arnall Ellis Gibbs Arnall (March 20, 1907December 13, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 69th Governor of Georgia from 1943 to 1947. A liberal Democrat, he helped lead efforts to abolish the poll tax and to reduce Georgia's voting age ...

's effort in 1943 to reform deplorable conditions on Georgia chain gangs. A sequel, ''Out of These Chains'' (1942), was written by Burns' brother, Vincent Godfrey Burns, an Episcopal priest. The songwriter

Jimmie Skinner Jimmie Skinner (April 27, 1909 – October 28, 1979) was an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist. He also was known for a mail-order record business and retail store in Cincinnati, Ohio. Biography Ski ...

, reading from his unfinished autobiography, recounts on Volume 6 of the compilation '"Doin' My Time" 1947-1963' that he wrote the country music classic "Doin' My Time" after reading the account of Robert Burns' imprisonment and escape in ''True Detective Mysteries'' magazine.

Bibliography

*Robert Elliott Burns, ''I Am a Fugitive from a Georgia Chain Gang!'', Vanguard Press, 1932; Gale Research, 1972; Beehive Press, 1994; University of Georgia Press, 1997,

References

*Doin' My Time" 1947–1963, Volume 6, Bear Family Records, BCD 16613 FK, Germany, 2003 1932 non-fiction books American memoirs Memoirs adapted into films Grosset & Dunlap books Memoirs of imprisonment {{US-bio-book-stub