And, Barbara Graham and the two meatheads she worked with they decided that he was probably laundering ill-gotten gains with Mable Monahan," said Retired KTTV Investigative Reporter Pete Noyes "So, they broke into her house. LOVE AND LIGHT TO ALL!Become a Patreon Member!https://www.patreon.com/afterlifeadventuresBecome a Member of the YouTube Afterlife Adventures Family!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRbV9L3iozhXBmYcWEsfjcg/joinMy Website: https://afteradventures.comMy Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfterLifeAdven3My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afteradventuresMy Email: afterlifeadventures2020@gmail.comDISCLAIMER: The videos on Afterlife Adventures You Tube channel are not meant to hurt anyone, discriminate against anyone and are recorded with no disrespect towards any person or their family members. In 1944, she served a jail term for prostitution. [8] Subsequently, John True agreed to become a state witness in exchange for immunity from prosecution. As a teenager, she was promiscuous and in She had an affair with Perkins and agreed to The prosecution was led by district attorney J. Miller Leavy. According to Kerry Kyriacos Michael MBE, creative director at Theatro Technis, he died on April 14 2023, at the age of 90. Sheriff. Henry Graham was a drug addict and was known as a hardened criminal, all be it one of a low level. Date of Death: May 0, 1975; Day of Death: Thursday; Time of death: unknown; Died at Age: 43 years; . only a few months. Attorney Ward Sullivan confers with defendant Jack Santo while co-defendants . This is Case File 1 of our series Women Executed on Death Row. [10], Upon hearing of Shorter's disappearance and probable death, William Upshaw, a convicted felon, volunteered to testify before the grand jury. [Photo courtesy LAPL] She also had two baby boys, which she left with the father, her first husband, when that marriage dissolved. Barbara Graham was executed by the State of California, June 3 1955, in the gas chamber at St Quentin: she had been found guilty of the murder of one Mabel Monahan, an elderly lady. charge of the execution and it was his job to strap her into the chair. fourth gang member called John True went to the old lady's house and demanded stays - she had prepared herself and could not understand "why do they After many failed appeals and on her execution day multiple stays of execution, Barabara Graham was taken to the death chamber. friends were mainly criminals who were involved in prostitution and gambling. she hand it over to them. are those who maintain her innocence. The marriage was not a success and by 1941 she was divorced. 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. then special feature writer for the Los Angeles Herald-Express. Remember two This attempt to suborn perjury, plus the recorded admission that she indeed had been at the scene of the widow Monohan's senselessly violent murder, abutted by her previous perjury conviction, completely destroyed Graham's credibility in court. Graham was born Barbara Elaine Ford, in Oakland, California, the eldest of three children of Hortense Wood. Barbara liked nice things and also, perhaps "I Want to Live!" for immunity from prosecution and they were all three convicted and sentenced She was supposed to go at 10. very moving. 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. The press soon nicknamed Barbara Graham bloody babs. Upon release at age 21, Hortense refused to allow Graham to live with her. surprisingly, was said to enjoy classical music but she also liked gambling and In court, it all added up to convictions, and death sentences for Graham and her partners. in the courtroom of the Monohan murder trial. Jordans carnival comes to town: House Judiciary Committee hearing on Manhattan crime was a silly sideshow, Discipline, please: The Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiates misconduct against the NYPDs chief of department, The unfair SALT cap must go: Limiting deduction of state and local taxes is an unjust penalty that must be repealed, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Fifteen states and the federal government had executed women between 1903 and 1955. "plant" - a policewoman. she was secure, he said to her "Now take a deep breath and it won't bother "Why would this story have grabbed him so much?" drugs. a fellow "inmate" to give her an alibi. Barbara Graham's hands. Before she hopped on a bus back to California and began working as a prostitute once more. The officer was recording the conversation. [8], On the evening March 9, 1953, Graham reportedly gained entry by knocking on the door and asked to use Monohan's phone due to car trouble. "In a situation like this you don't moan, you don't beg, "In being drawn to her and interviewing her, (journalists) came to believe she was innocent," Cairns said. Barbara Graham was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, San Rafael, California. In 1953, she married Henry Graham, who worked as a bartender at one of her frequent haunts. Barbara Elaine "Bonnie" Wood Graham (ne Ford; June 26, 1923 - June 3, 1955) was an American criminal convicted of murder. He always had time for his friends and neighbors. After hearing of what happened to Shorter, a man named William Upshaw, a convicted felon, stepped forward to testify before the grand jury. Henry Graham was a hardened criminal and drug addict. dubbed "Bloody Babs" by them. Two films were made about her both called True, Barbara lost patience and began to pistol whip the old lady and then Meeting with Graham to plan the alibi story, he insisted that she admit to him that she had indeed been at the scene of the crime. Val Norman - The Ballad Of Barbara Graham (2:41) On June 3, 1955 Barbara Graham and two of her partners in crime were executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin for their part in the brutal murder of Mabel Monahan in Burbank, California. Iris later got remarried and moved to New York, leaving her mother Mabel to reside in the house. She served a five year sentence for perjury, as she provided a false alibi for two petty criminals. 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. Opinions tend to become polarized and to this day there Women at Corona from where she would be driven to St. Quentin to spend her One of the policemen who a familiar story?). To shut her up, Graham whacked her in the face with the butt of a pistol, and continued pistol-whipping her until blood spilled all over the floor. She was accompanied to the gas chamber by Father Edward Dingbuerg, San Quentins Catholic chaplain. Murray Melvin, whose extensive work in film and on stage was highly regarded by his peers, died from complications from a December fall. Gram Parsons died on September 19, 1973, in room eight of the Joshua Tree Inn, near Joshua Tree National Park. That changed on the night of March 9, 1953. Next of kin and family origins. At this point Shorter claims he threw Perkins to the floor and got True to remove the gag because he had noticed that Mabel was having trouble breathing. Maybe that will be better for my kids" (of which she had She started an affair with Perkins, who told her about a 64-year-old widow, Mabel Monohan,[7] who was alleged to keep a large amount of cash and jewelry in her home in Burbank, California. She got the gas chamber along with her two accomplices after they botched a robbery in an attempt to do a wealthy, elderly widow over. "[13], Graham was convicted, while the informant was immediately released from jail, and her (informant's) sentence commuted to time served. dubbed "Bloody, Two films were made about her both called gas chamber there in 1955. Barbara's case is yet another of Women in Compton and South Central Los Angeles were influential in the development of Hip Hop on the West Coast. The gang thought their victim would be more likely to trust another woman. There were three career criminals - Perkins, Baxter Shorter and Jack Santo, all experienced thieves and accomplished safecrackers - and John True, a dull-witted deep-sea diver who was down on his luck and willing to try robbing an old lady. old and thus Barbara was raised by neighbors and got little education. Canon Barbara Graham Obituary, Death Cause: We got information about the Death of Rev. Barbara was innocent or guilty or partially guilty by virtue of being involved Although Graham's story is largely forgotten today, Cairns said, she remains a powerful symbol of a woman marginalized by society, abused by the legal system and besmirched by the media. her death had been much easier than Mabel Monahans. penalty and it is difficult to see in the pursuit of justice any sensible "Count to 10 after you hear the cyanide tablets drop, and then take a deep breath," one officer whispered to her. However, once they had all gone their separate ways, Shorter reportedly called for help from a pay phone, although the address he gave was wrong. Perkins, Santo, Barbara and a Photo of Mrs. Barbara Graham, whose talks with the undercover minute appeal her initial execution time was stayed until, , she was being prepared when a second stay was She was given two stays. The address given to the operator was incorrect and Monohan was discovered two days later by her gardener. On March 8th, 1953, Barbara Graham had joined Emmitt Perkins, Baxter Shorter, Jack Santo, and John True for dinner in the San Fernando Valley. Do you know what it means not to know what to do? "My sense of her all through writing the book was that she was always her own worst enemy," Cairns said, pointing to one incident in particular. another attempt to live a decent life, she worked for a while as a nurse in, . Perkins, Santo, Barbara and a After her string of failed marriages, Barbara Graham became a worker in the sex trade, just like her mother before her. led from the holding cell blindfolded and strapped into one of the two chairs Her ex son-in-law was 74-year-old Luther B. Scherer (1879-1957), a multi-millionaire who was well known through his ownership of various gambling clubs in locations such as Palm Springs and casinos in Las Vegas. The film is from Graham's point of view and includes details differing from real life; in particular, the manner in which the police found and arrested Graham. 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. She had a another child by Graham, her third, a boy called Tommy who After many failed appeals and on her execution day multiple stays of execution, Barabara Graham was taken to the death chamber. 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