Caryl Chessman and Death Row

Caryl Chessman in the Gas Chamber

Back in 1960 I was very concerned with the fate of a convicted felon, one Caryl Chessman, who was awaiting execution in California's gas chamber at San Quentin Prison.  I was a freshman in high school, but I was hoping Chessman's sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment.  I had read his book, Cell 2455 Death Row, and was impressed with his writing and outlook.  The gritty details of life on death row were very compelling, the steady stream of prisoners walking past his cell on the way to the little green room, the gas chamber, while he waited his turn.

After numerous stays of execution, Chessman was finally executed on Monday, May 2, 1960.  Later that day, after school, my best friend Joe and I were shooting hoops at a nearby junior high school and expressing to each other our regrets over Chessman's death.

I recently reread parts of Cell 2455 Death Row, and am currently reading Chessman's second book, Trial by Ordeal.  These books have long been out of print, but the former is available for Kindle and the second can be obtained from second hand book dealers.  I received my copy of Trial by Ordeal, and its pages are browning with age and it has a slight musty smell.  Even though the book is 60 years plus of age, it is still a fascinating read.  Chessman was an intelligent and even sensitive man while on death row, but he hadn't always been that way.

Caryl Chessman had led a life as a petty criminal, stealing cars, robbing bordellos and gambling dens, and even assaulted a police officer.  However, he never killed anyone, or even seriously injured anyone.  He was accused of being "the Red Light Bandit" in 1948, a robber who would use a red spotlight (to simulate a police car) to pull cars over on the highway so he could rob the people inside.  The Red Light Bandit made two fatal mistakes, he robbed two cars in Lovers' Lane, then forced the female passengers out and into his own car a few yards away.  The female abductees were then forced at gunpoint to perform fellatio on the bandit.  He did not rape them, however, this was a disgusting and evil crime.

At that time, California had the "Little Lindbergh Law" in place, wherein a kidnapper could be given the death penalty.  The Red Light Bandit qualified, for moving his women victims a few yards away.  Chessman was arrested on suspicion of being the Red Light Bandit, and he probably was indeed that same criminal.  He was driving the same type of car when arrested, had a pen light in the glove compartment like ones used in the car robberies, and a knotted red handkerchief that could be fitted over the car's spotlight.  There was no gun present, but one was found near the car after the arrest, where it was probably thrown by Chessman.  The two women identified him at trial of being the perpetrator.

Chessman's attorney said he could make a deal with the courts, that Chessman would plead guilty in exchange for a life term with possible parole after seven years.  Chessman, however, swore he was innocent and was not the Red Light Bandit, and would settle for nothing less than a full acquittal.  So he took over his own case and acted as his own attorney, was found guilty and sentenced to death.  Chessman's life was a series of stupid errors, rotten judgment and thuggish behavior.  But did he deserve to die for it?  I think not.  The Little Lindbergh Law was revoked and every living prisoner convicted under it had their death sentences commuted.  Every prisoner, that is, except for Chessman.  He was executed for crimes that would not have carried the death penalty at the time of his execution.

Chessman has been dead now for 57 years, but his writing continues to impress.  I recommend his books.  After I finish Trial by Ordeal I will look for his last book,  The Face of Justice.

The Beltway Sniper: John Allen Muhammad Executed in Virginia

John Allen Muhummad is dead, paying the ultimate penalty for his killing spree seven years ago.  I have often struggled with the morality of the death penalty, but not in this case.  If ever a case demanded the death penalty, this one did.  Ten people were murdered at random and three others wounded, for no apparent reason.  Islamic Jihad was the stated justification but I believe the killers got a thrill out of the murders, as well as a feeling of power.

I first became aware of the death penalty as a boy, back in 1960 when the state of California executed Caryl Chessman, the so-called "Red Light Bandit."  Chessman was a criminal with a long record.  He never killed anyone, nor did he try to.  What he did do was rob and then rape the female robbery victims.  Back in those days California had its own version of "the Little Lindberg Law," making kidnapping with bodily harm a capital offense.  Chessman moved one of his victims, a 17 year old girl, a short distance before sexually assaulting her and that act alone made him eligible for the gas chamber.

Chessman's victim, one Mary Alice Meza, later went insane and spent the rest of her life in a mental institution.  She wasn't dead, but she may as well have been.  However, various psychiatrists stated that Meza had mental problems before the assault and that her subsequent mental illness was not a result of it.

In 1954, Chessman wrote a book of his memoirs called Cell 2455 Death Row, which was later made into a movie.  The book and the film portrayed Chessman as a victim of mistaken identity and inflamed public opinion in his favor.  However, he was guilty; not only was he a successful robber and rapist, his book proved he was pretty good con man too.    Later, California repealed its Little Lindberg law and commuted related death sentences to life imprisonment.  However, Chessman for some reason wasn't included in those commuted.  Under today's law, he would not have been sentenced to death or even life imprisonment.

Chessman's attorneys filed many appeals, obtaining stays of execution eight times, in some cases by just minutes before the scheduled execution.  His last stay was granted after he had been strapped into the gas chamber, with cyanide gas already filling the death chamber.

Whether or not Chessman deserved to die isn't as clear cut as Muhammad's case, and so I was conflicted about the death penalty for many years.  Killers like Muhammad, however, restore my faith in the rectitude of capital punishment.

You can read more about Chessman here.