Earl Ellicott Dudding was born on October 16, 1871, in Putnam County, West Virginia. In 1909, Dudding killed his uncle and began a five-year sentence in a penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia. The experience set his life on a new course, and following his release, he established and served as director of the Prisoners' Relief Society. Letters from imprisoned North Carolinians drew Dudding's attention to the state prison system during the administration of Gov. Thomas W. Bickett. State leaders bristled at the "outsider's" criticism of the prison system, leading to many press battles with the Prisoners' Relief Society. He died in Marlboro Meadows, Maryland, on July 23, 1973.