57 -Virginia Savage –
Virginia Penitentiary, Moscow Savage –
Moscow Savage, born c1885 in Russell County, was convicted, of second-degree murder. Savage received a 28-year sentence.
He twice made brief escapes twice from the State Farm in
Goochland County in 1910 and 1912 before being recaptured. Savage had a terrible prison record and was refused a pardon in 1913 and 1914. In a 14 June 1913 letter to Susan Savage, Moscow’s mother, Governor William Hodges Mann elaborated
on his decision. “I am sorry to have to say to you that your son,”
he wrote, “is one of the worse convicts in the Virginia Penitentiary.” Mann added that “we…have done everything possible for him, but he does not seem to appreciate any kindness or be willing to respond to any efforts we make on his behalf.” Savage was sent to Western State Hospital on 22 September 1914.There is no record of him returning to the penitentiary and he does not appear in the extant records of Western State Hospital.