Barbara Graham's Murder Case

Introduction

The Hollywood film I Want to Live! (1958), directed by Robert Wise, describes the life story of Barbara Graham and the crime of murder she involved. Barbara Graham is guilty of the murder of Mabel Monahan, sixty-one years old woman. Although, Graham is guilty of murder, she denied to her death. Graham is a sentence to the death penalty in the San Quentin State Prison and execute in 1955. The crime happened in 1953. Mabel Monahan, the victim, is murder in a robbery. The police later arrested four people - John Santo, Bruce King, Emmett Perkins, and Barbara Graham. Bruce King becomes a witness to testify this trial. After the verdict of the jury sentenced Graham a death penalty, Graham becomes the third women who faced the death in the gas chamber. With the legal issues raise by her murder trial, Graham's guilt is still debating nowadays. Although we do not see the jury of deliberation from the film, we can clearly see that why the jury determine that Graham is guilty by six different reasons.

Discussion

Reason of Barbara Graham's execution

The jury in the case of murder makes a decision in which Graham is guilty. Barbara Graham is guilty in the murder case of Mabel Monahan. The victim was 61 years old women. Graham denied that she is involved in the murder of Mabel Monahan. Besides this, the jury of six judges constitutes a decision, which makes Barbara Graham guilty in murder case of Mabel Monahan.

Bruce king's indication against Barbara Graham

First of all, Bruce King's testimony rises up the evidence against Barbara Graham. King indicates that Graham is with them and is the first one going into Ms. Monahan's house. According to King, when King went into Ms. Monahan's house, he saw that Graham strikes Ms. Monahan with a gun on the head and face. King claims that after he dissuades Graham from hitting Ms. Monahan, Graham stops, and Ms. Monahan collapses. King also points out that all four of them start searching her house after they tight Ms. Monahan up, which implies that Barbara Graham is the only one who has physical violent towards Ms. Monahan, and thus the one who cause her to death. King's testimony is the opposite side of Graham's testimony, where Graham insists that she is not at the crime scene at all. (Harnisch, 1958, pp. 175-180)

Audio evidence by Benjamin Miranda

Secondly, the strongest evidence comes when Benjamin Miranda, an undercover police officer in the city of Los Angeles, presents audio evidence that records the conversation between Graham and Miranda. The sound track is recording at the woman of the division of the county jail while Miranda meets with Graham. Miranda acts like willing to be her “paid witness” in order to approach Graham on that day. From the recording, Graham admits that she “was with them [Perkins, Santos, and King]” when the murder happens. Since Graham always insists that she is not at the crime scene, the recording directly overthrows her own stand ...