Criminal
Jun. 29, 2026
Capital punishment's forgotten Barbara Graham
Remembered today largely through the film "I Want to Live!," Barbara Graham's 1955 execution prompted a re-examination of her trial and helped launch California's first serious debate over capital punishment.
John S. Caragozian
Email: caragozian@gmail.com
John is a Los Angeles-based lawyer and sits on the Board of the California Supreme Court Historical Society. He welcomes ideas for future monthly columns on California's legal history at caragozian@gmail.com.
On June 3, 1955, convicted murderers Barbara Graham and two men were executed in San Quentin prison's gas chamber. Nowadays, the few people who remember Graham may associate her with the 1958 movie "I Want to Live!," which garnered Susan Hayward a best actress Academy Award for playing Graham. The movie, however fictionalized, had actual effect: It led to a re-examination of Graham's trial and to California's first serious debate over capital punishment.
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