Following their arrest, Boot was held in Florence while Hart was moved to
Tucson, the jail lacking any facilities for a woman. Hart and Boot came to trial for robbing the stagecoach passengers in October 1899. During the trial Hart made an impassioned plea to the jury, claiming she needed the money to be able to go to her ailing mother. Judge
Fletcher M. Doan was shocked and angered when the jury found her not guilty and scolded the jurors for failure to perform their duties. Both Hart and Boot were sent to
Yuma Territorial Prison to serve their sentences. Boot became a
prison trusty, driving supply wagons to
chain gangs working outside the walls. One day while driving a wagon he escaped and was never seen again. At the time of his escape, Boot had completed less than two years of his 30-year sentence. The attention Hart had received in jail continued once she was imprisoned. The warden, who enjoyed the attention she attracted, provided her with an oversized mountainside cell that included a small yard and allowed her to entertain reporters and other guests as well as pose for photographs. Hart, in turn, used her position as the only female at an all-male facility to her advantage, playing admiring guards and prison trusties off of each other in an effort to improve her situation. Hart's release from prison came in the form of a December 1902
pardon from Arizona Territorial Governor
Alexander Brodie. There are accounts that she and the warden were lovers. There is no evidence Hart ever had a third child, so this rumor, if true, may indicate a successful ploy on Hart's part. Upon release from prison, Hart was provided with a train ticket to Kansas City. ==Later life==