Tag: prison
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On This Day in 1935 – Raymond Hamilton, Depression Desperado and ‘Gentleman Bandit.’
Meet Ray Hamilton, thief, armed robber, kidnapper, escape artist, murderer. He worked with Clyde Barrow as part of the infamous ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ Gang before his out-sized ego caused him to strike out on his own. By his execution in May, 1935 (at the tender age of 22) he’d racked up no less than 362 […]
CrimeScribe
Bonnie & Clyde, Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie Parker, Clyde Barrow, death, death house, death penalty, Death Row, depression desperado, Detective Bennie Cravatt, electric chair, electrocuted, electrocution, escape, executed, execution, executioner, gentleman bandit, History, Huntsville, Hurbie Fairris, Joe Palmer, murder, murderer, murders, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Penitentiary, old sparky, prison, Roy Thornton, Sizzling Sally, Texas, Texas Thunderbolt, USA -
On This Day in 1926 – Gerald Chapman, America’s first ‘Public Enemy Number One.’
“Death itself isn’t dreadful, but hanging seems an awkward way of ending the adventure…” – Gerald Chapman to his lawyers after being condemned to hang for murder in 1925. ‘Gerald Chapman’ was his favorite alias, but his real name was probably George Chartres. Given that records are sketchy and Chapman was always evasive about his youth, […]
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Abe Reles, Al Capone, Allie Tannnenbaum, American Express, armed robberies, armed robbery, Atlanta, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Auburn, Auburn Prison, Ben Hance, Charles Loerber, Charlie Wolfe, condemned, Connecticut, Count of Gramercy Park, death penalty, Dutch Anderson, executed, Federal Government, Frank Gray, gallows, George Anderson, Gerald Chapman, hanged, Indiana, John Dillinger, John Gotti, Joseph Rosen, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Louis Capone, Massachusetts, Mendy Weiss, murder, New Britain, New York, New York City, New York State, Patrolmsn Skelly, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Franklin Roosevelt, prison, Public Enemy Number One, Sing Sing Prison, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, Walter Shean, Wethersfield Prison -
Virginia to abolish capital punishment.
On February 3 the Virginia State Senate voted 21 to 17 in favour of abolishing Virginia’s death penalty. Two days later the House of Delegates voted 57-41 to back repealing capital punishment in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Governor Ralph Northam has also indicated he will back the decision, remarking that “The practice is fundamentally inequitable. […]
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abolition, abolitionism, abolitionist, abolitionists, convict, convicted, conviction, convicts, crime, crime and punishment, criminal, criminals, death penalty, Donald Trump, electric chair, electrocuted, electrocution, executed, execution, executioner, executioners, executions, firing squad, gallows, hanged, Jerry Givens, Joe Biden, lethal injection, Martinsville, Martinsville Seven, murder, murdered, murderer, prison, prisoners, prisons, Richmond, shot, Virginia, Virginia State Penitentiary, Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty -
Thomas Tobin and Sing Sing’s Death House, the prison he built for himself.
If the worst prisons are those we make for ourselves Thomas Tobin couldn’t have constructed anywhere more hideous.
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Albert Patrick, Albert T Patrick, Broadway, Captain James Craft, chloral hydrate, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, E B Currier, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, electrocution, Empire Hotel, executed, execution, John Hurlburt, knockout drops, Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Prison, Matteawan State Hospital, New York, New York City, NYC, old sparky, prison, Rice University, Robert Greene Elliott, Sing Sing, Sing Sing Prison, State Electrician, Tenderloin, Texas, Thomas Tobin, Warden Johnson, William Marsh Rice, Willie Sutton -
22 July 1934 – The death of Dillinger and the Texas Death House escape.
22 July 1934 is usually remembered for Public Enemy Number One John Dillinger, shot dead in an alley next to Chicago’s Biograph Theater. Betrayed by brothel-keeper Ana Cumpanas alias ‘Anna Sage,’ the notorious ‘woman in red’ whose dress that night was actually orange, Dillinger’s story finally ended in the traditional fashion. Betrayed, ambushed, cornered and […]
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1934, Amarillo, Amarillo deputy sheriff roy brewer, Anna Sage, Arkansas, Biograph, Biograph Theater, Bonnie & Clyde, Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie Parker, Charley Frazier, Chicago, Clyde Barrow, Colt, condemned, convict, convicts, Crime Wave, death, death house, death penalty, Death Row, Eastham Prison Farm, Eldridge Roy Johnson, escape, escaper, escapers, escapes, executed, execution, executioner, executions, FBI, Fishing Hole gang, Fort Worth, G men, G-Men, gang, gangs, gangster, gangsters, gentleman bandit, have a seat please, Hub Stanley, Huntsville, Huntsville Item, Huntsville Prison museum, Illinois, J edgar hoover, Jim McKenzie, Joe Palmer, John Dillinger, Kentucky, Louisiana, Major Joel Crowson, murder, murderer, murderers, murders, old sparky, Paducah, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Public Enemy Number One, Ray Hamilton, Raymond Hamilton, Roy Johnson, Texas, texas death house, Texas death house escape, Texas Thunderbolt, Walls Unit, Whitey Walker, woman in red -
On This Day in 1957 – Robert Eugene ‘Bobby’ Carter, last man executed in Washington D.C.
It’s quite unlikely that many people, even DC residents, remember cop-killer Robert Carter. Arrested for murdering police officer George Cassels on 11 July 1953, Carter was never likely to win clemency from the courts or from the President who had sole pardoning authority within the District of Columbia. On 27 April 1957 Carter […]
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1957, armed robbery, capital punishment, Carl Breitfeller, condemned, convict, crime, crime and punishment, criminal, criminals, DC Jail, death, death penalty, District of Columbia, Earl McFarland, electric chair, electrocuted, electrocution, executed, execution, executions, exeutioner, George Berti, George Cassels, German spies, History, imprisonment, life, life imprisonment, Luger, mandatory death penalty, murder, murdered, murderer, New York, old sparky, Operation Pastorius, prison, Robert Carter, South Carolina, true crime, USA, Washington, Washington DC, Washington Post -
On This Day in 1890 -Martha Place, the first woman in the electric chair.
A free chapter from my book ‘Murders, Mysteries and Misdemeanors in New York,’ available now. Like many countries the US has an at times contradictory attitude to its death penalty, no more so than when a woman faces execution. Women account for fewer than 5% of death sentences in the US and less than 1% […]
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1934, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, bank robbery, bathtub booze, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, Daniel Kreisberg, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fonthill Media, Francis Pasqua, Frank Abbandando, Frank Manzella, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Green, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Mike Malloy, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, Red Murphy, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Roxalana Druse, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tombs Jail, Tony Marino, true crime, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, Wilfred Denno, William Kemmler, WILLIAM KEMMLER Willie Sutton, Willie Sutton, Willie the Actor, writing -
Justice denied in Colorado; Joe Arridy visits ‘Roy’s Penthouse.’
“Yes, they are killing me.” – Joe Arridy, when asked by Warden Roy Best if he understood why he was about to step into Colorado’s gas chamber. It’s rarer than it used to be that a case affects me as much as this one. If you cover true crime for a living then you learn […]
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Canon City, capital punishment, Colorado, crime, death penalty, executed, execution, exonerated, framed, Frank Aguilar, gaschamber, Governor Bill Ritter, History, injustice, innocence, innocent, Joe Arridy, justice, law, murder, Peckerwod Hill, Politics, prison, Pueblo, Pueblo Chieftain, railroaded, Roy Best, Roy’s Penthouse, true crime, Warden Roy Best, wrongfully executed -
On This Day in 1932, Michael Malloy – The Man Who Would Not Die
They had started with the obvious: alcohol. That should have been a simple, effective means of their victim destroying himself rather than the Trust taking the additional risk of actually murdering him. Insurance fraud was not a capital offence then or now; first-degree murder no longer is in New York State, but in 1932, it certainly was. The 1920s and 1930s was the busiest period for New York’s electric chair, averaging around twenty executions every year. If choosing Malloy was a bad idea, then actually murdering him was even worse.
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1934, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, bank robbery, bathtub booze, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, Daniel Kreisberg, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fonthill Media, Francis Pasqua, Frank Abbandando, Frank Manzella, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Green, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Mike Malloy, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, Red Murphy, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Roxalana Druse, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tombs Jail, Tony Marino, true crime, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, Wilfred Denno, William Kemmler, WILLIAM KEMMLER Willie Sutton, Willie Sutton, Willie the Actor, writing -
On This Day in 1932 – Francis ‘Two-Gun’ Crowley,provided inspiration for James Cagney
He was no relation to notorious Satanist Aleister Crowley, but had more than a touch of the Devil in him just the same. Born in New York City on October 31, 1912 (fitting for someone as scary as him) he lasted only 19 years before walking his last mile at Sing Sing’s death house on […]
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1944, Abe Reles, Albert Anastasia, Amos Squire, Angel of Death, Angels with Dirty Faces, Anna Antonio, appeal, appealed, appeals, armed robberies, armed robbery, assassin, assassinated, assassination, Atlanat, Atlanta, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Attica, Auburn Prison, Baby Face Nelson, bank robbery, Ben Hnace, Big Greenie, Big Moose Lake, books, bootleggers, bottlegging, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Combination, Brownsville, Buffalo, Bugsy Siegel, Burton Turkus, capital punishment, carbon monoxide, Carlyle Harris, Charles McLaughlin, Charlie the Bug Workman, Chester Gillette, clemency, clemency denied, Cody Jarrett, Condemned Cells, Connecticut, crime, crime and punishment, death house, death penalty, Death Row, death sentence, death warrant, District Attorney, Dow Hover, drugs, Durable Mike, Dutch Anderson, Dutch Schultz, Eddie Lee Mays, Edwin Davis, electric chair, electrocuted, Elliott method, Elliott technique, Elmer Burke, entertainment, Erie County, Erie County Sheriff, Ethel Rosenberg, executed, executiioner, execution, Fats Duringer, Fonthill Media, Francis Crowley, Frank Abbandando, Fred Burke, Frederick Tenuto, Friendly Bar and Grill, Friendly Tavern, gallows, gangs, gangsters, George Anderson, George Knight, George Westinghouse, Georgia, Gerald Chapman, Germantown, Governor Rockefeller, Governor Thomas Dewey, Grace Brown, Grover Cleveland, hanged, hanging, Happy Maione, Harlem, Harold P Brown, Harry Greenburg, Harry Maione, Helen Ray Fowler, Herkimer County, History, hitman, hitmen, Holmesburg Prison, Howard Baker, Howard Usefof, Iron Mike, Iron Mike Malloy, Italy, James Cagney, James Cassidy, jerk-em-up, Joe Masseria, John Dillinger, John Hurlburt, Joseph Francel, Joseph Milano, Judge Irwin Davidson, Julius Rosenberg, Kid Twist, Killer Burke, last meal, Leon Czolgosz, Leonard Street robbery, Lepke, Lepke Buchalter, Lewis Lawes, Lewis Pilcher, literature, Lonely Hearts Killers, Lord High Executioner, Louis Buchalter, Louis Capone, Louis Lepke, Lucky Luciano, Machine Gun Burke, Mafia, Martha Beck, Martha Place, Mary Farmer, Massachusetts, Max Rubin, Mendy Weiss, Midnight Rose, Milano Gang, morphine, Mr Arsenic, murder, Murder Inc, Murder Incorporated, Murder Trust, murdered, New Jersey, New York, New Yorkers, old sparky, Oreste Shillitoni, Palace Chop House, paper box kid, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Phil, President Calvin Coolidge, President Coolidge, President Grover Cleveland, President William McKinley, prison, prisoner, prisoners, prisons, Prohibition, Public Enemy Number One, punishment, Queens, Ray Fernandez, Raymond Fernandez, Raymond Street Jail, robberies, robbery, Robert Buchanan, Robert Greene Elliott, Rocky Sullivan, Roxalana Druse, Rudolph Duringer, Ruth Snyder, Salvatore Maranzano, Sing Sing, Sing Sing Prison, slaughter house, Slick Willie, State Electrician, suspension hanging, Syndicate, the Commission, The Dasher, the Rosenbergs, the Syndicate, The Tombs, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Dewey, Thomas Edison, Thomas Mott Osborne, Tom Dewey, Tombs Jail, Trigger Burke, true crime, Two-Gun Crowley, upright jerker, US Supreme Court, USA, Vermont, Virgil Richardson, Vito Genovese, Warden Kirchwey, Wethersfield, Wethersfield Prison, White Heat, Wilfred Denno, writing