In the Pre-Internet Days, what happened if police or bounty hunters grabbed a random person off the street and turned them in at a jail or prison while claiming that “This person is a wanted fugitive” in the hopes of getting money?
In the Pre-Internet Days, what happened if police or bounty hunters grabbed a random person off the street and turned them in at a jail or prison while claiming that “This person is a wanted fugitive” in the hopes of getting money?
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My dude the world wasn’t the wild west before the internet, in fact it really wasn’t that different than it is now
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What? Pictures still existed long before the internet, so did video. They weren’t just grabbing random people off the streets just because there wasn’t any internet. Might want to do a quick search as to how long pictures and video have been around. And before then there were still hand drawn wanted posters and eyewitnesses that can identify these people.
They would send a fax or make a phonecall to verify.
Generally speaking things like bounties would have specific conditons. You don’t just show up at a random town and say “This guy’s wanted for murder, I’ll take cash.”
You’d have to wait for them to verify, either over the phone, or send a picture, send a telegram, or send a courier, asking for someone to physically come and look.
Some con artists would occasionally try it, and sometimes get away, but most of the time the big bounties needed to be turned in to a specific sherrif or judge or other official. That’s why like 80% of bounty stories involve some great journey of dragging a prisoner or body across the country.
Usually falsely claiming a bounty required staying around waiting for the sherrif to arrive.
In el Salvador, there were a point we’re the goverment paid for dead communists. Some people set up shop asking people who wanted to work, they arrived, got killed and turned in for profit. Rinse wash and repeat.