Proof of guilt
Subtitle: Barbara Graham and the politics of executing women in America
By: Kathleen A. Cairns
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Lincoln
Language: eng
Number of pages: 204
ISBN-13: 9780803230095
Subjects: Women death row inmates; Case studies; Capital punishment; Women murderers
Description: "Barbara Graham might have been a diabolical dame in a hard-boiled detective story--beautiful, sexy, and deadly. Charged alongside two male friends in the murder of an elderly widow during a botched robbery attempt, "Bloody Babs" became the third woman executed in California--after a 1953 trial that played out before standing-room-only crowds and captured the imaginations of journalists, filmmakers, and death penalty opponents. Why, Kathleen A. Cairns asks, of all the capital cases in the twentieth century, did Graham's have such political resonance and staying power? Leaving aside the question of guilt or innocence -- debated to this day -- the author examines how Graham's case became a touchstone in the ongoing debate over capital punishment. While prosecutors positioned accused women as femme fatales, the media came to offer a counternarrative for Graham's life highlighting her abusive and lonely beginnings. Cairns shows how Graham's case became crucial to the abolitionists of the time, who used instances of questionable guilt to raise awareness of the arbitrary and capricious nature of death penalty prosecutions. Critical in keeping capital punishment in the forefront of public consciousness until abolitionists homed in on a winning strategy, her case illustrates the power of individual stories to shape wider perceptions and ultimately public policies"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-204).
Table of contents: title: A murder in Burbank; title: A life on the lam; title: A femme fatale on trial; title: Crime doesn't pay; title: An execution in California; title: Executing women in America; title: I want to live!; title: Due process; title: Abolishing the death penalty; title: The ultimate penalty.