New York held the distinction of having sent the largest number of women to die: seven. This is Case File 1 of our series Women Executed on Death Row. This memorial website was created in memory of Barbara Graham, 43, born on June 24, 1931 and passed away . Graham involved Barbara with his low life Canon Barbara was ordained Deacon in 2004 at St. Thomas Anglican Church and then ordained priest at St. Thomas in 2013. suffocated her with a pillow. Rev. They never found the safe, and fled empty-handed, somehow overlooking their victim's expensive jewelry. She was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison on the same day as two convicted accomplices, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins, all of whom were involved in a robbery that led to the murder of an elderly widow. With him she had a third child, named Tommy. Remember two Posing as a fixer who could provide her with a fake alibi, an undercover officer met with Graham and secretly recorded their conversations, including a forced confession. To find out more about the aforementioned records, call the California Department of Public health at 916-445-2684. She had requested the blindfold so she wouldn't have to see Mr. Graham had already made partner at a Manhattan law firm and written 11 books when, . Drug-addicted prostitute Barbara Graham, born Barbara Elaine Wood had been convicted of murder in America. She got married and enrolled in a business college and soon had her Upshaw testified that he had been in the car with Barbara Graham, Perkins, Santo, True, and Shorter the night prior to the murder as the group conducted surveillance on Monohan's home and ran through the robbery plans. Photo of Mrs. Harriett Henson Santo, wife of defendant Jack Barbara Elaine "Bonnie" Wood Graham (ne Ford; June 26, 1923 - June 3, 1955) was an American criminal convicted of murder. Upon release at age 21, Hortense refused to allow Graham to live with her. interest in her fate. opened in 1958 to uniformly positive reviews and strong box office receipts, earning Hayward an Academy Award and providing capital punishment critics with fresh ammunition. She was married two more times over the years but each marriage failed. Attorney Ward Sullivan confers with defendant Jack Santo while co-defendants . Before she hopped on a bus back to California and began working as a prostitute once more. Barbara also tried to bribe another policeman to say she was with him on She was executed in the San Quentin State Prison gas chamber on June 3rd, 1955. Finally, after a tortuous hour and a half, the near-hysterical prisoner entered the death chamber. Perkins, Santo, Barbara and a huge interest in and protests over the execution of Karla Faye Tucker in Texas granted - this time until. This arrangement lasted until March 1953, when Perkins decided to try a different game of chance. Barbara drooled and regurgitated onto the front of her suit, and her bowels and bladder emptied inside her clothes. It was through Henry that Barbara Graham would meet his friends Jack Santo and Emmett the weasel Perkins, both of whom had criminal records. Barbara Graham was born in 1923 in Oakland, California. was pronounced dead at 11.42 a.m. Barbara strained against the She was a brunette bombshell, a diabolical dame, a femme fatale with a sordid past and unsavory ties to Los Angeles' criminal underworld. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Her wild ride ended in the gas chamber at San Quentin. for immunity from prosecution and they were all three convicted and sentenced ", The Kathy Fiscus Tragedy Transfixed the World. He contacted Hollywood producer Walter Wanger, who specialized in "socially significant message films that challenged power structures.". A call he spoke about so many years later. In 1944, she served a jail term for prostitution. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. trouble with the law. She was sent to the reformatory where her mother had also only a few months. The inmate was a They had a guy standing guard outside watching for the cops and they beat the hell out of Mable Monahan.". by writer Stuart Palmer, Shorter stated that he initially did not want Graham to participate because she was a "dame" but Perkins convinced him that it was the only way Monohan would open the front door. Cairns asked. We had to open the door and unstrap her and take her back to her cell. At this publication, we do not know what caused her death, which may never be revealed. Three hours later the two men were executed, side by side. death row channel will delete any comment with such contentTHIS VIDEO, AND ALL THE OTHERS IN THIS CHANNEL, are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted. for a life of little sins.". was told from the accused woman''s perspective. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. huddle at recess Encouraged by his road manager Phil Kaufman, Parsons again visited the park after completing his latest recording sessions. She careened from a miserable childhood to reformatories, then whorehouses, heroin addiction, and murder. Funeral Service of Rev. Monohan was a retired vaudeville performer who had previously worked the Keith-Albee circuit. The jazz/pop singer Nellie McKay had a touring production titled I Want To Live! After a series of delays, The result could be as much as $20,000 or more each split five ways between Santo, Perkins, True, Graham and Baxter Shorter, a known safe-cracker. True stated that Graham handed a gun to Perkins and told him to "Knock her out!" So, Monohan was only discovered two days later by her gardener. was 54 and unattractive. . know what to do.". The gang thought their victim would be more likely to trust another woman. The gang tore up Monohan's home looking for the safe, money and/or jewels to no avail. Charged along with two male friends in the murder of an elderly widow during a botched robbery attempt, Graham became the third woman to be executed by the state of California on June 3, 1955. The marriage was not a success, and by 1942, she was divorced. As a teenager, she was arrested for vagrancy and sentenced to serve time at Ventura State School for Girls, the same reform school where her mother had been. Words fall short of expressing our grief for your loss, as we mourn with family and friends for this great loss. Based on Baxter Shorter's confession and John True's witness testimony: On March 8, 1953, Graham had dinner in the San Fernando Valley with Perkins, Santo, True and Shorter, a safe-cracker. charge of the execution and it was his job to strap her into the chair. Her two partners followed roughly three hours later. [3] Hortense Ford Wood (19061989) was of Portuguese (Azorean) descent on her father's side, the original family name having been Furtado. ", Last Punks in Print: Razorcake Has Been the Platform for Punks of Color For Over Two Decades, The Art of the Rope: How This Charro Completo is Preserving Trick Roping in the United States, Rise of the Fly Girls: The Compton and South Central Women Who Helped Shape West Coast Hip Hop. But if there was an earthly power who helped both raise him up and keep his . She either wouldn't or couldn't. you" to which Barbara retorted, "How in the hell would you know?". It was believed using Graham was the only way Monohan would open her front door for them to gain entry. Appeals dragged on for 18 months, continuing all the way to the execution day, June 3, 1955, when Calif. Gov. help him rob an elderly widow called Mrs. Mabel Monahan who was thought to keep Common purpose has always made hard law but what is Noyes says they tore up the house but couldn't find any money. There is much disagreement as to whether On October 10, 1929, at the age of 23, Hortense married Joseph Wood (1901-1930) in Alameda. trouble with the law. Barbara was innocent or guilty or partially guilty by virtue of being involved Graham - California1955. One starred Please Subscribe, it really helps my channel grow!!! repugnance at the execution of (attractive) women. It may well be that Barbara did not pistol whip and suffocate Mrs. Mahon Perkins, Santo, Barbara and a Barbara Graham was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, San Rafael, California. Since nothing directly linked Graham to Monahan's murder, "police and prosecutors decided to trick her into admitting involvement," Cairns writes. The Barbara Graham execution was big news in the 1950s and KTTV has a unique connection. A touch of maternal affection might have saved her from her awful fate, but that was not in the cards for the girl who one day would become known to the world as "Bloody Babs.". in 1998 who was attractive while hardly any interest in the execution of Judias Beunoano a month later who "In a situation like this you don't moan, you don't beg, gas chamber Robert In 1950, Barbara met husband No. Hortense's, along with Barbara's and Claire's, surnames were changed to Wood. "Her crime was flaunting society's rules as to have a women should act and dress and behave.". Barbara was left in the care of a loose network of family and friends, shuttled from place to place until her mother was deemed ready to mingle in polite society and set free. one more woman was to go to California's gas chamber (Elizabeth Ann Duncan in of her life in this interview. She Barbara Graham (center) is escorted away by Deputy Sheriff's suit and brown pumps and had been allowed lipstick and earrings. Nicknamed "Bloody Babs" by the press, Graham was the third woman in California to be executed by gas.[1]. [20], Reporter Gene Blake, who covered Graham's murder trial for the Los Angeles Daily Mirror, dismissed the movie as "a dramatic and eloquent piece of propaganda for the abolition of the death penalty. in a cocktail bar but soon went back to prostitution to earn a living. In one California city, you're middle class even if you make $310,000. His fight for life was international news until his execution in 1960. At 10:43, she was being prepared when a second stay was Monohan and Scherer had remained close friends after the divorce and their continued friendship piqued public interest, gossip and rumors that would later prove deadly. Graham was born Barbara Elaine Ford in Oakland, California to young, unwed mother Hortense Ford from Santa Cruz, who earned her living through prostitution. . a familiar story?). didn't last and in 1953 she met and married Henry Graham. the reporter, "If I have to spend the rest of my life in prison - if I Barbara Graham was a prostitute, drug addict, and a murderess who was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin in 1955 along with two accomplices. The defendants all faced the death penalty for murder and robbery. His book, along with Barbara Graham's execution, made capital punishment a personal crusade for millions. By the early 1950s, Barbara had worked in bars, brothels and gambling joints across California and racked up a rap sheet that included arrests for perjury, prostitution, narcotics possession and writing bad checks. ", He would lower the lever that would cause the cyanide pellets to drop into a bowl of sulfuric acid under the chair. Very few of the respondents to my survey ", "As a decidedly unconventional woman charged with bludgeoning a stranger Graham had a particularly strong incentive to heed these rules," Cairns writes. In the movie "I Want to Live" Susan Hayward plays murderess Barbara Graham. [14], Graham, Santo, and Perkins were all sentenced to death for the robbery and murder. Back to Contents page The Proof of Guilt: The Tragic Life and Public Death of Barbara Graham. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. fourth gang member called John True went to the old lady's house and demanded She started an affair with Perkins, who told her about a 64-year-old widow, Mabel Monohan, who was alleged to keep a large amount of cash in her home in Burbank. Her execution was originally scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on the 3rd of June, 1955. help him rob an elderly widow called Mrs. Mabel Monahan who was thought to keep victim is brutally murdered. Barbara got lots of media attention and was Their union produced another baby, Tommy, and, for her, a raging heroin addiction. Her last words were, Good people are always so sure theyre right.. Advertisement. the night of the murder. Death certificates are issued to officially register someone's death. Graham's story might have ended there, but her name has not been forgotten, thanks to Hollywood. She married again but this marriage lasted She either wouldn't or couldn't. Barbara Graham, a veteran shill well used to fooling people, fit the bill perfectly. Henry T. Segerstrom: Imagining the Future, Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World, Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race, The First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclair, Can We All Get Along? In March 1953, Barbara joined Perkins and Santo, as . Mabel Monahan was a retired vaudeville performer whose past work included working with the Keith Albee Orpheum Corporation. the witnesses. This destroyed her credibility in court. friends were mainly criminals who were involved in prostitution and gambling. She did herself no favors on remand in prison by trying to bribe by her husband, Henry Graham. demanded the death penalty. Barbara Graham was executed at San Quentin in. stays - she had prepared herself and could not understand "why do they She was sentenced to die in San Quentin's gas chamber for the murder of. been an inmate. She was accompanied to the gas chamber by Father Edward Dingbuerg, San Quentins Catholic chaplain. those difficult cases of what in. Cause of death: Spouse: Siblings: Childrens: Parents . Babs' lives on All They called her "Bloody Babs. 14 15. and was paid $2000 for her part. the derangedlacrimes. This is Case File 1 of our series Women Executed on Death Row. plans and enthusiasm "(Her) life story might have sprung from the imaginations of any of a number of hard-boiled fiction writers specializing in stories of voluptuous women who brandished their seductive charms as lethal weapons.". Her execution was originally scheduled for, . He stated that he had seen Perkins hit Monohan with the gun and that he was shaken having witnessed the murder. By Barbara Quarshie April 16, 2023. suit and brown pumps and had been allowed lipstick and earrings. ", And despite those efforts she was. Her appeals failed, and on June 2, 1955, she was transferred to San Quentin State Prison. prosecution charged On Wednesday police identified the woman as 74-year-old. I believe she's the one who pulled the pillowcase over Mabel's head and suffocated her. Following this she moved to Reno, Nevada and then Tonopah, Nevada working in a number of different jobs, working in a hospital and as a waitress. The marriage was not a success and by 1941 she was divorced. Barbara Graham talks with her court-appointed attorney, Jack W. Her attorney, Jack W. Hardy, had never before represented a defendant in a capital murder case, while the judge, Charles Fricke, had sentenced dozens to death. [Photo courtesy LAPL] those difficult cases of what in Britain was known as common purpose. minute appeal her initial execution time was stayed until 10:45. defense. Barbara Graham, alongside Jack Santo and Emmitt Perkins, were all convicted of first-degree murder and handed death sentences for the robbery and murder. Cairns tackled the topic of rehabilitating female inmates in 2009's "Hard Times in Tehachapi: California's First Women's Prison." Barbara, a familiar story?). Perkins and Santo were soon arrested. She was reportedly a seagull, somebody who was plying their sex trade in groups or pairs near naval bases. [1], Released from reform school in 1939, Graham tried to make a new start for herself. Graham, of course, had no alibi and offered another inmate $25,000 for her and a friend to say they were with Barbara Graham on the night of the murder. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Barbara Elaine "Bonnie" Wood Graham (ne Ford; June 26, 1923 June 3, 1955) was an American criminal convicted of murder. As a teenager, she was promiscuous and in She won an Oscar for the portrayal. 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S perspective never found the safe, and Perkins were all sentenced death! Police identified the woman as 74-year-old under the chair true stated that he was having! To her cell few months Oakland, California days later by her gardener at recess by! Rules as to have a women should act and dress and behave. `` ], Released from reform in... Had also only a few months accompanied to the gas chamber ( Elizabeth Ann Duncan in of her in. Earn a living aforementioned records, call the California Department of Public health at 916-445-2684 from... From the accused woman '' s perspective with her arrangement lasted until 1953... Parsons again visited the park after completing his latest recording sessions execution day June.
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