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Caryl Chessman — Part 2
Page 14
14 / 26
deat eeMored Ter: nova, but he obvi-
sly ali: Wanted th.
This towel hes on ane a the most pux:
enects of Coessma: Laracter, ‘He
van who, Upparently, was w Hing , to die
aver a chanee te p! 2 Sor clemency, pro-
‘ded he would admit his quilt, His an-
wer, fn his own som awhat rowantie
Hetoric, wes “vindicxt!on or death.” Chess-
mim also adhered, it seems, to the code
as regards infonners,
Jas., while ad:nittiing we had come
Bee h, he reiterated that bo hed
wt been “oone to as the incorma-
sive
dion, He wasn’t,
But there are other sides to this ques-
loa. We have iaforn o Chat Chessenan
mere titereated i protecting: certain
cucent parties than ins savin either dis
own re putation or his Ete.
Anon he ve
-entecn-veareedd de
ete Was
“ese
protecting is a
sander whose exist-
seoruboaan di his death. cit is
stive thet hed. iasisting Giet he,
Tor-
Tule
wv owsit
ae oaag
tea € tase
tho Spa i Eb dt
Hog be ose t
tect oat
. it it orgie n
aBIER
fee heen wer
athe hope hat ity pbb tien
to fartias information “This
Mo dheeisies. or VINe= EEN EE ey
our sfc ty to Dewspapers Oefere aibtication
poe t it was uray Eee table in the same
;
+
mlanree -
HOW S
Cai.
i A. papers
3 Pe,
the frout page,
and some aang
PWIA 2 AZIDE]
tpressec, by the
tio that we : yily bad identified
ie va foe tue first tune, bat were able
to orravice bis Corunts r (Catfomia crimi-
. ident feation £- ther), his FBE
ehumber aid 1 copy ob nis criminal record,
ked, and aew ins
Deus to Alter in through
hence ci)s ace infermers. One
Leecutes La coud
\ oddeld’s wife called
alter we pul left
Kee, she cad had
soy ann ut ost six
L. aA. taro
all anons tty ts PAeRe co
“TT
<oice a
governor's yet?”
the
aovvered that he bad.
setter ra tan the information
dort Tas a face full ci aaid,
Kare at you ater that.”
[ “x BYES but
“ted tet ~ Was
us to stick with
uy a week to co
The yoverper sent
“sd not change his
yo ection.
ecofed back co the
Z whee Toit te see Chessman
it hes
o help ou
unre Gil or
wae S@ Uw PD one
s the right thing,”
truth to come (>
"What cH rence cat it make? Do you
mean te say youd rather die in the gas
her than live «ith the reputation of
ox. steal pigeon?”
‘ib way seem an anomaly to you,” he
said, (but that’s way T feel.”
Y mentioned a nane he didn’t know I
knew and asked him if he were protecting
anyone,
“Let's just forget about that part of it,
shell wee" he said. seriously shaken.
Larrecd. But P want it on the recerd that
he died, was thinking of
Chessman, wher t
mor: Shan his owr.
AText day, we started preparing ‘the
Ancosy writ—Chessanin’s hist plea For
justices. The aratetial we got together for
that varit convinced George » Davis, Chess-
naaa'’s oten aforacy, for the first tine, Ghat
he was imnocent. Until he read this ma-
Davis had been Gabtiag tor his client
atrichy beeause he bad been Cenled due
process of Taw,
fos ease, described by the
scHous Uironc hed” by,
tverWhelpee somos
Biveoqwecats.
ab Cha
,
fe
ten” mean
t
fas Ctr,
tamed bv the
tiation of
A. Har te the one tscd
by tho Ded } dght Pood.
5. fos Wleged admissions to the police.
Here’s what we found at the heart of
this “overwhelming” evidence.
itive dent ific ation-of: Garyl Chessman.
led Light Bandit, questlonable,
Tt Chessman was tricd, convicted
wnteaced to Cooth for the following
and
so-called “Red Light” eriines.
LL Armed Robbo-ry-of Thomas Bartle
1/is, 33 wan. SiS.
Anacd Rebbery—Floyd C. Bailew and
Elaine Bushaw 4/18/48, 7:30 pum. $20.
3. armed Rodbery~of Jarnigan Lea.
Anned cobbery, kidnaping for the purpose
of robbery with bedily injury (a capital
offense} and violation of Penal Code See-
tion 255.\ (forcing -ictim to oral copula-
tien, thus constituting bodily injury in above
charze.) Of Regina Johnsen 1/19/45,
9:40 oan,
Losmied Reblecrr—Gerald
* 42:10 am. $2.
Attempted RebberymFre nok Hurlburt,
Weng for the purpose cf robbery with
bodily i - ithe secoad capital cllense),
violation o° seetic 258A Penal Code and
the attempted forcible rape of Mary Alice
Meza-2 /22,48, 1 am,
A ojory of eleven women and cone man
found Caryl Ches guilty on all counts.
Prestrrs -utification as the Red
Light Band it war beyond a reasonable
doub:. £ Bet’s Took 22 che Ancosy evidence.
1. aguas Bart in his complaint to
the police—ten mivrics after he was robbed
by the Red Light Bandit, described the
bandit 2s being ” +, age thirty, height
Sve fect six Cactue s six feet*, weight
150 pounds, stocky belid, “tan con mex
and, added that ndit had “crooked
teeth in (the) free Bartle’s companion.
Anos Plaskeitz cel, “EL couldn't see
bin eat Toheard ' o> talk.”
About one wees Srter, two days after
Stenc, 1/20-
_t
‘Ss
Bandit, Chessnian sas described in a ye
FF -tcletype as follows:
7 Ww, six, five fect eleven, weigit,
les p , dark-brown wavy hair, long
narrow nose with bump on bridge of nuse,
brown eves,”
Although Bartle’s description, given ten
minutes followisz the robbery, fails to
describe Caryl Chessman, Bartle, a mori:
later at Chessman’s preliminary hearing,
positively identificd Chessman as. the Red
Light Bandit. When Chessman. acting as
his own attorney, asked Bartle if he could
recezuze any porticular idestifying fea-
ture that he might have mentioned to i
police, in his origipal repert, Bartle an-
swered, “Ll told the officers Crit vou had :
Protvacing dower found [thiek seu +
find itd the report” .
What ‘Uhomas Vardie, a doatig: by pro-
fession, had reported was that the Hes
Light Bandit had creeked fieat teeth.
Caryl Chessinen had remsrkchly strviss
teeth-as Dr. Bare tmist rave discover:
when confronted by Cheses or i carr,
s teeth are, oo Raet |
and bhe ,
Chessinaan’s
2. Miowd GLB.
made a pohce thes: hoes
robl~ aa uh ary Jagee . ‘
BENG 8 Sth. ine ‘ t ’ praise
Msi acl ak oe Seret fan
shaw, Mio Bah ss. - ype ce ai:
of ¢ pis Cet gaat feet. a.
Ghesatian MiB Vrex sap grerecths aussi
fooretien fa has door in the wet,
iWerdhee Chessta a oat) the pyre finan:
hearing, bat refine to identify: Chessimat's
race "Bhat’'s the ecloe,” he tested, “bre
the (Red Light Vanltit) car was nota fe -
passenger<coupes 1. was-a sedan.”
Ballow furthers 00 tfed chit he aed
telling the police “lat the Red Light Boo
was “ehirtv, 160 pounds, and Chad 4
protruding under jaw” This is all Biadlew
reco! cted havin teld the police.
3. dornigan Le the companion at in
gina Johnson, testibed at the preliminary
h ariag in February of 1648 that he bd
desetibed the Red Lidvt Bandit to the p-
lice as being “between five wet eight ard
five fect ten (with 2 hat on), « “pproximat te
160 pounds, with creekcd teeth,
stained.”
Yet. three mer
AE
=
pos
he Tater se Chesser
trial in May, with Crossman cross-exansin-
ing, anc while ender oath fernigap Lea
yelunceered the fein: And fore or
toid the police so- had crooked tec.”
Furthermore, hough Loa Cains tp
have seen the ‘ Light Bandit” wi!
amosk, he admitts.i thet, in reporting re ic
crime to the police. he had rot mentioned
that the bandit 4a a prominent nose ve
he positively ident‘fed Carel Chessmar 2s
the Red Light EBendit in court. (Chess-
man’s hawk-like nose is his most dis
guishing feature.
Even more disie~ding is ths information
to he found in a Las Angeles County Sher.
is ece report 4.2637, dated Janusy
27, 19-48, but neeer introduced in evidence
at either prelimingry hearing or trial.
THs document :-porting the identi§. +
tion of Caryl man aw’ David U.
Knowles -(Chessime:’s partner whe was <1-
rested with himd by Mr. lea and vrs
Johrson contain. the folkes i oz:
“Suspects Oploe ) pallea up her a
(Mr, Lea's) car ccd then spproactss
foot and asked boy Wentifiecion, 2.00 ¢
oh
rt,
fe
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