Velma Barfield is probably better known for her execution than for her murders. She became the first woman to be executed in North Carolina after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. She was also the first woman to die by lethal injection in the United States.

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Velma Barfield is probably better known for her execution than for her murders. She became the first woman to be executed in North Carolina after the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. She was also the first woman to die by lethal injection in the United States. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Humans have always committed crimes. What can we learn from the criminals and crimes of the past, and have humans gotten better or worse over time?

Criminalia

Margie Velma Barfield was convicted of one murder, but eventually confessed to four in total. She became known as the Death Row Granny before she was executed in 1984.

Velma Barfield: Death Row Granny or Just Mama Margie?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b2eafbb8-b6ab-4b15-ab92-ae2d0179ef38/transcript

“Two gaudily-dressed 'Brooklyn cowboys' attempted a desert train robbery”, reported the Associated Press on November 25, 1937. Henry Loftus and Harry Donaldson have been referred to as, "the last of America's classic train robbers," but the pair weren't professional criminals. This is the story of two men who wanted their lives to be like those they read about in Western-dime novels – but didn't realize they were decades too late.

&ldquo;Two gaudily-dressed 'Brooklyn cowboys' attempted a desert train robbery&rdquo;, reported the Associated Press on November 25, 1937. Henry Loftus and Harry Donaldson have been referred to as, "the last of America's classic train robbers," but the pair weren't professional criminals. This is the story of two men who wanted their lives to be like those they read about in Western-dime novels &ndash; but didn't realize they were decades too late.

The 'Last of America's Classic Train Robbers' Weren't Train Robbers at All

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e89f305a-b733-4113-8559-b248016d168c/transcript

Led by Matthew Kimes and Ray Terrill, the Kimes–Terrill Gang were known for successfully pulling off some very high-profile bank robberies -- but they may have been better known for their daring prison escapes. In the lore of their gang it's said that each member swore a blood oath promising to free other members from their prison cells – even if it meant they, themselves, were apprehended or killed while trying to spring a fellow associate. While that may be just part of their legend, it does very much seem to be true when you hear their story. Prison, say modern historians, was nothing more than, quote, “just another occupational hazard.”

Led by Matthew Kimes and Ray Terrill, the Kimes–Terrill Gang were known for successfully pulling off some very high-profile bank robberies -- but they may have been better known for their daring prison escapes. In the lore of their gang it's said that each member swore a blood oath promising to free other members from their prison cells – even if it meant they, themselves, were apprehended or killed while trying to spring a fellow associate. While that may be just part of their legend, it does very much seem to be true when you hear their story. Prison, say modern historians, was nothing more than, quote, “just another occupational hazard.”

Prohibition Outlaws: The Rise and Fall of the Kimes-Terrill Gang

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/110d9551-a196-4446-a221-b241016973c3/transcript

Herman Webster Mudgett of New Hampshire, better known by the alias H.H. Holmes, was responsible for anywhere from 20 to 200 killings before he was apprehended in 1894, and is known as one of America’s first serial killers. But ... not THE first. That title -– at least on record -- belongs to the Harpes: "Big" and "Little" Harpe, who killed at least 40 men, women, and children – and likely more. Be warned, this may be the most violent episode we have yet told.

Herman Webster Mudgett of New Hampshire, better known by the alias H.H. Holmes, was responsible for anywhere from 20 to 200 killings before he was apprehended in 1894, and is known as one of America’s first serial killers. But ... not THE first. That title -– at least on record -- belongs to the Harpes: "Big" and "Little" Harpe, who killed at least 40 men, women, and children – and likely more. Be warned, this may be the most violent episode we have yet told.

Serial Killers on the American Frontier: "Big" and "Little" Harpe

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/76cc3f2e-8cb2-4dff-82a5-b2350125eaa9/transcript

Velma Barfield: Death Row Granny or Just Mama Margie?

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