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Barbara Graham’s Execution

 Barbara Grahams Execution

Barbara Graham (also sometimes refered to as Barbara Wood) was born in June 26, 1923. She was a native of Oakland, California. She also lived for some time at San Quentin. Barbara Graham gained notoriety as an American criminal and was also convicted as a murderess. She had to pay with her life and was executed in the gas chamber along with two of her accomplices.

Barbara Graham sold herself as prostitute and even indulge in using drugs. She was nick named as “Bloody Babs” by the media. Another case that became notorious in the limelight was when she was convicted of beating an aged widow Mable Monohan to death during a faile robbery attempt. She met her other accomplices through her fourth beau Henry Graham, who was also a career criminal and father of her son, Tommy.

Her infamous line before her execution was “Good people are always so sure they are right.”

Barbara Graham is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, San Rafael, California.

    19 Responses to “Barbara Graham’s Execution”

    1. dt says:

      Your English is obviously a second language.

    2. Hoffy says:

      Does anyone know if Barbara went into the Gas Chamber bare footed
      as others were required to do? Was this always the case? Did
      Caryl Chessman have to remove his socks? They roll a green carpet
      from the holding cell to the Gas Chamber door. I wonder if this
      had anything to do with the Cyanide, & if they had a problem at
      some point in the past?

      • Irene says:

        Barbara wore shoes usaully the person being exrcuted has to go without any shoes but Barbara insisted that she wear shoes.Chessman did go bare foot if you see the movie Kill me if you can with Alan Alda he was bare footed when he went into the gas chamber

        • Gary says:

          I have researched this case and I have found several differst stories concerning Barbara Graham’s shoe during her execution. One is that she refused to take them off. One is that she lost at lease one on the way to the chamber. Another a prison guard said she wore house slippers. I believe that if she did wear them to the chamber they were removed as she was strapped into the chair. I remember seeing I want to live many years ago on TV with Susan Hayward and the version on TV she was wearing different shoes and she took them off compared to the version we see the most where Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham refuses to take her shoes off. Other people I have talked to also have noticed the differenced in the same movie. From understanding how a gas chamber execution takes place I doubt if Barbara Graham had her shoes on once she was seated in the chamber.

      • mike stiebeling says:

        instead of a green carpet they should roll out the red carpet!!!!!
        who cares if the b…. wore shoes? the poor victom of these scum,
        bags is the one we ALLshould feel bad for!!!!!!

    3. Kelly says:

      I think its sad peroid. I mean idk but 3 men was it & one woman yet “she” pistol wiped the old lady. I dont think so. she was the decoy not the mastermind not the one in charge not the one heading it up. theres always a leader-person in charge. i say he hit the woman i think its common since she might have been a messed up woman but i find it hard to believe she was that bad. the things she did back then people do today & we barely blink an eye. a woman struggling to find herself doing anything to survive-sad i say.

      • allmhuran says:

        Yet your fingers do some walking and not through the yellow pages. The Holyy Bible.

      • jim says:

        REALITY!! EVERY individual who particpatetes, however slight the participation, in a crime which results in a death, is guilty of first degree murder, and can, and should, be executed. that’s the law, and there is nothing unfair about it, either legally or morally.
        if you try to rob a store with a toy gun, and the clerk has a heart attack, you are guilty of first degree murder and deserve execution.
        there is nothing difficult to comprehend about such a simpe reality

    4. Kelly says:

      does anyone know what ever become of her children?

      • Diana says:

        I knew her son Thom (that’s how he spelled his name). He was raised by her friend, Lorraine, in Los Angeles.
        We were close friends for years in the late 60′s and 70′s but lost contact when I moved away in the 80′s. I don’t know what he’s doing today but would love to know. He’d be in his mid-50′s now.
        Diana

    5. Sissy says:

      Diana, I would be most interested in anything you would like to share about Barbara Graham’s son. You can email me if you’d like. Just post it if you want my email address.

    6. edward c. stengel says:

      I saw the movie, starring Susan Hayward, way back in the 50′s, if I
      remember correctly. In the movie, there is this newspaper man who is
      convinced she played no part in the actual killing, but was just there for the robbery. Personally, I think she probably did kill the old lady because there’s no talk about any of the other robbers having hit the old lady. That seems odd, especially when you’re dealing with criminals, who generally have a habit of always blaming the crime on each other. Whatever the case, they were all there, and to some degree or another, they’re all responsible for her death. I have to admit, though, that Barbara Graham came up with some classic comments. I love the one where she says to the guy who’s strapping her into the gas chamber and telling her to take a deep breath and she won’t feel anything – “How would you know?” It’s a shame a person with such a wit had to throw her life away.

    7. K. A. A. says:

      According to the actual crime they said she hit the lady with her right hand if you noticed the movie she was left handed so she didn’t kill that lady. They did find that she was not guilty of the crime only after she was dead and her son was old enough to dig into the archives. The men she was running with only wanted to set her up and cop a deal so they wouldn’t die also.

    8. vanceypoo says:

      This poor lady never had a chance in life, just grew up hating herself, and making bad decision after another, just couldn’t break the cycle of low self esteem, just like her mother!

    9. shirleypace says:

      in the 5o.s i saw the movie starring susan hayward. iloved her acting
      so well she almost had me believing that barbara graham was innocent.
      i saw the story on I D. TONIGHT AND YOU KNOW WHAT / SHE ACTUALLY DID KILL THAT OLD LADY. THAT MOVIE WAS SO WELL ACTED IT WAS ALMOST MADE YOU FEEL SORRY FOR HER EXCEPT IFEEL MORE SORRY FOR THE OLD LADY MOMOHAN.MURDER COMES IN ALL KIND OF PACKAGES AND YOU BEST BE CAREFULL OUT THERE ONE MAY LIVE NEXT DOOR TO YOU OR ME..

    10. mike stiebeling says:

      on feb. 25th jim got it ALL CORRECT you go dude…
      MORBID? no…jim didn’t give you hell..he simply told you the truth and you thought it was HELL!!!!!!!!!!

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