Early Life and Troubled Childhood
Barbara Graham was born in 1923 in Oakland, California. She had a difficult and miserable childhood (a familiar story?). Her mother was sent to a reformatory when Barbara was only two years old, so she was raised by neighbors and received little education.
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Teenage Years and Early Adulthood
As a teenager, Barbara was promiscuous and frequently in trouble with the law. She was sent to the same reformatory where her mother had once been an inmate. Released in 1939, she tried to make a new start. She got married, enrolled in a business college, and soon had her first child. However, the marriage was not successful, and by 1941, she was divorced.
Barbara liked nice things and, perhaps surprisingly, was said to enjoy classical music. But she also liked gambling and drugs. She was jailed for two months in San Diego for “lewd and disorderly conduct.” She married again, but this marriage lasted only a few months. In 1944, she served a jail term for prostitution. Her social circle largely consisted of criminals involved in prostitution and gambling.
A Life of Struggle
Barbara’s life continued to decline. She worked briefly as a waitress in a cocktail bar but soon returned to prostitution to earn a living. In another attempt to live a decent life, she worked for a while as a nurse in Nevada.
She married for the third time in 1951, but this marriage didn’t last either. In 1953, she married Henry Graham and had her third child, a boy named Tommy. He was two years old at the time of Barbara’s execution.
Descent Into Crime
The Fatal Connection
Through her husband, Barbara became involved with his criminal associates, including Emmet Perkins and Jack Santo. They were engaged in various criminal activities. Barbara began an affair with Perkins and agreed to help him rob an elderly widow, Mrs. Mabel Monahan, who was believed to keep large sums of money and jewelry in her house.
Barbara, Perkins, Santo, and a fourth gang member, John True, went to Mrs. Monahan’s house and demanded she hand over her valuables. When she either couldn’t or wouldn’t comply, Barbara allegedly lost patience. According to True, Barbara pistol-whipped the elderly woman and then suffocated her with a pillow.
Arrest and Trial
Barbara, Perkins, and Santo were soon arrested. John True testified against them in exchange for immunity, leading to all three being convicted and sentenced to death.
There remains significant disagreement over Barbara’s level of guilt. Some believe she was innocent or only partially guilty by association. She undermined her own defense by attempting to bribe a fellow inmate (who was actually a police plant) to provide a false alibi. She also tried to bribe a policeman to say she was with him on the night of the murder. This severely damaged her credibility.
When asked about these actions during her trial, she responded, “Oh, have you ever been desperate? Do you know what it means not to know what to do?”
Execution
The Final Day
Barbara was sent to the California Institute for Women at Corona and later transferred to San Quentin to spend her final hours. The California state gas chamber is housed within San Quentin— a steel capsule painted pale green with two perforated metal chairs for the condemned.
Her execution was originally scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on June 3, 1955. She prepared herself, dressing in a beige wool suit and brown pumps. However, the execution was stayed until 10:45. At 10:43, as she was being prepared, a second stay was granted, this time until 11:30 a.m. Upset by the delays, Barbara reportedly said, “Why do they torture me? I was ready to go at 10:00.”
At 11:28 a.m., the execution began. Blindfolded at her own request so she wouldn’t see the witnesses, Barbara was strapped into the gas chamber chair. Joe Feretti, in charge of her execution, said, “Now take a deep breath and it won’t bother you,” to which Barbara retorted, “How in the hell would you know?”
She died easily, unlike some gas chamber victims. Perkins and Santo were executed later that same day.
Media Sensation
Barbara received intense media attention and was nicknamed “Bloody Babs” by the press. Whether she truly deserved this moniker remains uncertain.
She never expressed remorse for Mrs. Monahan’s death. While she wasn’t most people’s idea of a “nice girl,” many believe she was framed for a crime she did not commit.
Films and Final Reflections
Two films were made about her life, both titled I Want to Live. One starred Susan Hayward, and the other starred Lindsay Wagner. Both are considered very moving.
While on death row, Barbara told a reporter, “If I have to spend the rest of my life in prison—if I have to serve more than seven years—I want it the way it is. I’ll take the gas chamber. Maybe that will be better for my kids.”
She described herself as “paying for a life of little sins.” Only one more woman, Elizabeth Ann Duncan in 1962, would be executed in California’s gas chamber. Barbara was the third woman executed in California in the 20th century, and one of nine prisoners to face the gas chamber there in 1955.
Just six weeks later in Britain, another attractive young mother, Ruth Ellis, was executed amid similar media frenzy.
Conclusion
Barbara’s case highlights the complexities of what is known in Britain as “common purpose.” A group commits a serious crime, and a victim ends up murdered. Each participant denies personal guilt and blames the others—but who is telling the truth?
Even if Barbara didn’t physically kill Mrs. Monahan, she was present and involved. Should all members of such a group receive the same punishment? The law in most countries has long said yes.
Perkins and Santo were also executed on the same day as Barbara for their involvement in the crime.
Had Barbara not been young, attractive, and a mother, the case might have been forgotten. But public and media interest ensured her story lived on. To this day, her case polarizes opinion, with many still believing in her innocence.
Justice and Gender Bias
Common purpose law has always been controversial. If it’s impossible to determine who struck the fatal blow, should no one be convicted—or should all be?
Few respondents to my survey believe that women should be treated more leniently when it comes to the death penalty. In principle, justice should be blind to gender. And yet, there’s an undeniable public discomfort with executing women—especially attractive ones.
The 1998 execution of Karla Faye Tucker in Texas drew massive protests and attention, while the execution of Judias Buenoano a month later, who was 54 and less conventionally attractive, drew barely any notice.
But that, it seems, is the way of the world.
This story is included in the book Women Executed in America (1900–2021) — 56 True Crime Biographies, along with 55 other compelling case studies of women who faced capital punishment. If you found this story interesting, click the link to buy the book and explore more of these powerful narratives.
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