Barbara Graham | |
|---|---|
.png) 1953 mugshot of Graham | |
| Born | Barbara Elaine Ford June 26, 1923 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 1955 (aged 31) |
| Cause of death | Execution by gas chamber |
| Other names | Bloody Babs |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Children | 3 |
| Motive | Robbery |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Barbara Elaine "Bonnie" Wood Graham (née Ford; June 26, 1923 – June 3, 1955) was an American criminal convicted of murder. 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. Nicknamed "Bloody Babs" by the press, Graham was the third woman in California to be executed by gas.[1]
Her story of adult criminal activity is told in the highly fictionalized 1958 film I Want to Live!, in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
- ^ O'Shea, Kathleen A. (1999). Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900–1998. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 70. ISBN 0-275-95952-X.