Toni Jo Henry | |
---|---|
Born | Annie Beatrice McQuiston January 3, 1916 |
Died | November 28, 1942 Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, U.S. | (aged 26)
Cause of death | Execution by electrocution |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Tony Jo Hood |
Known for | Murder of Joseph P. Calloway |
Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
Criminal penalty | Death sentence |
Toni Jo Henry (née Annie Beatrice McQuiston;[1] January 3, 1916 – November 28, 1942) was the only woman ever to be executed in Louisiana's electric chair.[2] Married to Claude 'Cowboy' Henry, she decided to break her husband out of jail where he was serving a fifty-year sentence in the Texas State Penitentiary for murder. Together with Harold Burks, she took a ride with Joseph P. Calloway, whom they then robbed and murdered. Toni Jo Henry was convicted and sentenced to death. After three trials,[3] she was executed by electrocution on November 28, 1942. Her case generated several popular books and films including A Savage Wisdom and Stone Justice.