Caryl Chessman

Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was the man convicted for supposedly being the “Red Light Bandit,” who was known for robbing women in their cars and sometimes forcing them to perform sex acts. Chessman was given the death penalty in 1948 and executed in 1960, but he claimed his innocence, and argued this convincingly, until the end. His case attracted world-wide attention and as a result he became the first cause cébre of the movement to ban capital punishment.

Joseph Longstreth, Caryl Chessman’s literary agent, made this and Chessman’s other books possible.