NAME:
Charles Westmoreland
BACK NUMBER: 82978
LOCATION: General Population,
A-Wing, Cell 13
CRIME: Aggravated Vehicular
Hijacking, Vehicular Invasion, Involuntary
Manslaughter and Reckless Homicide
SENTENCE: Sixty years to life
TIME LEFT ON SENTENCE: The rest of
his natural life
ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE IN: Twenty six
years
NOTES:
Charles
Westmoreland is one of Fox River’s longest tenured
inmates, currently serving his twenty eighth year.
Westmoreland was originally tried and convicted in
Douglas, Arizona and served the first two years of
his sentence in the Arizona State Prison at
Florence. Because of budget restraints, Arizona had
to outsource some of its inmates to other states. As
a result, Westmoreland was transferred to Fox River
in 1973.
Immediately upon his incarceration in Arizona, there
were whispers that Westmoreland was, in fact, the
legendary plane hijacker DB Cooper. In 1971, Cooper
notoriously held a 727 full of passengers ransom
until he was paid $1.5 million, then parachuted from
the plane into the woods of the Pacific Northwest,
never to be seen again. While there was never enough
proof to indict Westmoreland for Cooper’s crime,
there was just enough circumstantial evidence to
suspect him. And that suspicion followed him to Fox
River.
It
isn’t easy to be an inmate whom others suspect to be
a millionaire. Other prisoners constantly harass him.
He’s been threatened, assaulted, one time he
suffered a broken nose from another inmate who tried
to extort money from him. In recent years, the
physical threats have subsided. Part of that has to
do with his advanced age. But after three decades of
steadfast denials, many inmates have come to the
simple conclusion that Charles Westmoreland is not,
in fact, D.B. Cooper.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Inmate has permission
to keep grey cat (Marilyn) as it was grandfathered
in before Fox River prohibited pet ownership. Inmate
can keep it in his cell, but the feline is not
allowed to run loose in the facility.
Inmate has logged visits from his daughter, Anna
Westmoreland. Inmate is rated Grade B and is
approved for work on Prison Industries and for work
as a prison trustee.
