Born in St. Joseph, Michigan, Caryl Chessman was a criminal with a long record who spent most of his adult life behind bars. He had been paroled a short time from prison in California when he was arrested near Los Angeles and charged with being the notorious "Red Light Bandit." The "Bandit" would follow people in their cars to secluded areas and flash a red light that tricked them into thinking he was a police officer. When they opened their windows or exited the vehicle, he would rob and, in the case of several young women, rape them. In July 1948, Chessman was convicted on 17 counts of robbery, kidnapping, and rape and condemned to death. After countless appeals,
Chessman finally went to the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison on May 2, 1960.
When I was a kid this was big news, and for a short time, he was my hero..
Yea, yea... I spelled his name wrong, but I'm sure it was Carl when I read about him.
TPBM is not impressed...
Charles