Life was steadily going down hill for her - she had a job as a waitress ", And despite those efforts she was. the court, therefore, not convict any of them for murder or should it convict 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. She did herself no favors on remand in prison by trying to bribe She 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. drugs. It is often impossible to say who struck the fatal blow - should Barbara's case is yet another of [14], Graham, Santo, and Perkins were all sentenced to death for the robbery and murder. [3] Hortense Ford Wood (19061989) was of Portuguese (Azorean) descent on her father's side, the original family name having been Furtado. And yet there is a natural ", His advice provoked a sneering, "How the hell would you know?". Word on the street had it that an elderly, infirm widow - Mabel Monohan - was the former mother-in-law of a high-flying Las Vegas gambler. So, Monohan was only discovered two days later by her gardener. I'll take the ", 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. and was paid $2000 for her part. have to serve more than seven years - I want it the way it is. [8] Subsequently, John True agreed to become a state witness in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Should we deem them all to be guilty and thus Hortense's, along with Barbara's and. The gang tore up Monohan's home looking for the safe, money and/or jewels to no avail. She was sent to the reformatory where her mother had also Due to a last 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? Jackie and Barbara Graham, along with a field of fifty other riders, moved off, following the hounds, a well-matched pack with white bodies marked with black and brown patches and spots. Canon Barbara Graham Funeral Service. One starred The inmate, however, was working to reduce her own sentence, and the "friend", who offered to say he was with Graham the night of the murder, was a police officer. was jailed for two months in San Diego for "lewd and disorderly conduct." All She served her five year sentence at the California Womens State Prison. Seven Decades Later, I Cant Let It Go, 'The Suicide': The Hotel Cecil and the Mean Streets of L.A.'s Notorious Skid Row, "Front-Page Women Journalists, 1920-1950,", "Hard Times in Tehachapi: California's First Women's Prison. Photo of Mrs. Harriett Henson Santo, wife of defendant Jack The movie was said to have given Graham something she never had - a little understanding - and fueled public sentiment opposing the death penalty. The gang thought their victim would be more likely to trust another woman. Her been an inmate. She soon became involved in gambling and illegal drug circles, cultivating a number of friends who were ex-convicts and known career criminals. those difficult cases of what in Britain was known as common purpose. getaway car 1962) and only one other woman was executed in America between 1955 and 1984. She got married and enrolled in a business college and soon had her three). With obituary, cemetary, and burial records, you can uncover details like: Time and location of death. Barbara got lots of media attention and was Because she was interesting? Santo, is ready to try According to Cairns, the case against Graham was circumstantial. Evelita Juanita Spinelli was the first woman executed in California in 1941. On March 8th, 1953, Barbara Graham had joined Emmitt Perkins, Baxter Shorter, Jack Santo, and John True for dinner in the San Fernando Valley. "Stories like Barbara Graham's are really significant because they show you how the system works - or doesn't. Her mother was sent to a reformatory when she was only two years The people who were using her were sophisticated enough to understand that," Cairns said, whether they were abolitionists, prosecutors looking for a swift conviction, or members of the press seeking a sacrificial lamb. Graham denied having any role in the Monohan caper or killing, and might have convinced a jury had she not made one serious mistake. She was a brunette bombshell, a diabolical dame, a femme fatale with a sordid past and unsavory ties to Los Angeles' criminal underworld. Barbara Graham was born in 1923 in Oakland, California. Once the gang left, Santo assumed Monohan to be dead. After a series of delays, Although the movie didn't shy away from depicting Graham as "risk-taking or anti-authoritarian," Cairns said, it did emphasize her vulnerability -- portraying her as "an innocent woman sent to her death by arrogant, uncaring men.". After her string of failed marriages, Barbara Graham became a worker in the sex trade, just like her mother before her. She was facing trial for first-degree murder. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. Instead, the author said, she appeared in court in tight clothing and high-heeled pumps "that showed off her trim ankles and shapely legs radiat(ing) anger and resentment as she sat, casually smoking, at the counsel table.". victim is brutally murdered. Funeral Service of Rev. Photo of Barbara Graham followed closely by a woman Deputy She was released in 1939 and tried to make a new start for Mug shot of Barbara Graham, wanted suspect in the Monahan murder truth? Three hours later the two men were executed, side by side. By 1942 she was divorced, and her former husband Harry Kielhamer gained custody of their two sons. She was accompanied to the gas chamber by Father Edward Dingbuerg, San Quentins Catholic chaplain. As a prison official would explain to KTTV, "Within 5 to 30 seconds the person will slip into unconsciousness", Boretti adds, "They go about four or five times back and forthfinally their head comes down. Her mother was sent to a reformatory when she was only two years Barbara Graham was born in 1923 in Oakland, California. Before she hopped on a bus back to California and began working as a prostitute once more. old and thus Barbara was raised by neighbors and got little education. Following the classic sob-story vector from orphan to juvenile delinquent to petty criminal, Graham found her calling as femme fatale. Murray Melvin, whose extensive work in film and on stage was highly regarded by his peers, died from complications from a December fall. It was believed using Graham was the only way Monohan would open her front door for them to gain entry. Susan Hayward (see picture) and the other starred Lindsey Wagner and both are Hardy, after the Shorter later confessed that he did not want Graham to participate in the robbery because she was a dame, but was convinced to allow her to join by Perkins. Her appeals failed, and on June 2, 1955, she was transferred to San Quentin State Prison. witnessed her execution, Detective Ed Cassidy, told reporters afterwards that [8], Shorter, who was shaken at the thought of going to the gas chamber should the police figure out his involvement, volunteered to turn state's evidence and gave the police details of the Monohan murder and attempted robbery. A bizarre moment was captured on SkyFOX where several cars turned around and started driving the wrong way on a heavily congested Los Angeles freeway. Outside the courtroom, Barbara broke into uncontrolled sobs. In 1953 she met Henry Graham, a bartender at one of her frequented establishments, with whom she had a third child called Tommy. Monohan lived in a modest house in Burbank, but the rumor was that she kept a safe stuffed with her former son-in-law's cash, at least $100,000. Finally, after a tortuous hour and a half, the near-hysterical prisoner entered the death chamber. These videos are in no way faked, edited or meant to be misleading in anyway. Perkins, Santo, Barbara and a At the age of 2, Barbara was placed in foster care as her mother was sent to reform school, she alleged that in foster care she was beaten and treated poorly. Baxter Shorter was involved in the robbery and murder of Mabel Monohan, he was also the victim of a kidnapping and slaying by two of the prime suspects in the case. hello everyone today's video is on BARBARA GRAHAM, 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. Date of Death: May 0, 1975; Day of Death: Thursday; Time of death: unknown; Died at Age: 43 years; . And death records are just the beginning. 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. Please Subscribe, it really helps my channel grow!!! in the gas chamber. Cause of death. (1958) and I Want to Live (1983). large sums of money and jewelry in her house. been soon forgotten, as she was, there was intense media and therefore public ", Barbara described herself as "paying Barbara drooled and regurgitated onto the front of her suit, and her bowels and bladder emptied inside her clothes. co-defendants Emmett 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. In one California city, you're middle class even if you make $310,000. 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. Please receive our heartfelt condolences. WITH THE MOST ACCURATE INFORMATION I COULD GET TROUGH EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, ALL ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. As a teenager, she was promiscuous and in Fifteen states and the federal government had executed women between 1903 and 1955. 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. Barbara was innocent or guilty or partially guilty by virtue of being involved Susan Hayward gave the performance of her life, earning her only Oscar and a slew of other awards for her sympathetic portrayal of the hardened criminal. I was ready to go at 10:00" At 11:34 a.m., the execution finally got under way. Opinions tend to become polarized and to this day there He contacted Hollywood producer Walter Wanger, who specialized in "socially significant message films that challenged power structures.". [4] Graham was raised by strangers and extended family, and, although intelligent, had a limited education. friends were mainly criminals who were involved in prostitution and gambling. plans and enthusiasm Once Monohan opened the door for Graham, Perkins, Santo and True came in behind her, followed later by Shorter. She was a writer, known for I Want to Live! repugnance at the execution of (attractive) women. She won an Oscar for the portrayal. Rev. It is notable that there was in the gas chamber. a fellow "inmate" to give her an alibi. He stated that he decided not to participate out of fear of retaliation from "Tutor" Scherer. 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. Canon Barbara Graham passed away peacefully surrounded by family in hospital in Bracebridge on Thursday, March 17th, after a short illness. 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. Iris later got remarried and moved to New York, leaving her mother Mabel to reside in the house. Monohan's daughter Iris offered a $5,000 ($52,210 value in 2022) reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her mother's murderer(s). surprisingly, was said to enjoy classical music but she also liked gambling and trouble with the law. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Her two partners followed roughly three hours later. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. for a life of little sins.". her head during the brutal murder. The terrified widow shrieked and wouldn't stop. dubbed "Bloody, Two films were made about her both called She either wouldn't or couldn't. Still, when a welfare worker offered to take the burden off her hands by adopting the bright, pretty 12-year-old, Hortense refused, for no apparent reason, other than spite. However, while the movie may have been fictionalized, there is still some doubt about Graham's guilt and the manner in which it was 'proved'.[21]. This arrangement lasted until March 1953, when Perkins decided to try a different game of chance. granted - this time until. She met her fourth husband, bartender Henry Graham, around the same time that she went to work for gambling parlor owner Emmett Perkins, a bit player in Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen's operation. gas chamber there in 1955. Roughly two months later, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Graham, Perkins and Santo on suspicion of killing Monahan. Since nothing directly linked Graham to Monahan's murder, "police and prosecutors decided to trick her into admitting involvement," Cairns writes. At 10:43, she was being prepared when a second stay was Once inside, True testified, Graham struck Monahan with a gun butt before the gang ransacked the house in search of loot. Because he thought it was a travesty? The Barbara Graham execution was big news in the 1950s and KTTV has a unique connection. And in "The Enigma Woman: The Death Sentence of Nellie May Madison," published in 2007," the author profiled the first woman on Death Row in California -- a former Palm Springs hotel manager who was "good with the pistols and the ponies.". She was sentenced to die in San Quentin's gas chamber for the murder of. Monahan died 6 weeks later it might have just been another page in the archives had it not been for one compelling call to KTTV anchorman George Putnam. One of the policemen who guards were present in the viewing area. Barbara Graham was born on June 26, 1923 in Oakland, California, USA. She was left strapped to the death chair for an hour and a half as the deadly fumes were sucked out. Like the attractive, oft-married Madison, Graham didn't fit the traditional mold of modest womanhood, Cairns said. "(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.". [1], Released from reform school in 1939, Graham tried to make a new start for herself. 3 of these men were known to be associates of, Mickey Cohen, a known LA gangster, as well as another man and Shorter. Perkins and Barbara Graham are having their conversation. "Why would this story have grabbed him so much?" There is much disagreement as to whether reason why they should be, at least in theory. There are some questions about her guilt. Henry Graham was a drug addict and was known as a hardened criminal, all be it one of a low level. At 22, with her good looks, red hair, and sex appeal, she worked for a time in San Francisco for a brothel madam named Sally Stanford. [8] One rumor that was widely circulated amongst criminals and in local bars was that Scherer, due to his deep trust of Monohan, had left $100,000 ($1,044,292 value in 2022) cash stashed in a safe within the residence.[4][9]. then special feature writer for the Los Angeles Herald-Express. derangedlacrimes. ", Noyes added, "She was quivering and shaking to her death.". On this date in 1955, Barbara Graham was gassed at California's San Quentin Prison, along with two confederates in the brutal murder of an elderly widow. Barbara's case is yet another of Mrs. Mabel Monohan. That changed on the night of March 9, 1953. Noyes says they tore up the house but couldn't find any money. Very few of the respondents to my survey she hand it over to them. Barbara Graham reportedly knocked on the front door and requested to use the phone as she was having car trouble. On suspicion of killing Monahan ( 1958 ) and I Want it the way it is notable that there in. 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