In postwar California, the Red Light Bandit pricked a governor’s conscience

By the time 38-year-old Caryl Chessman was executed on the morning of May 2, 1960, he had been on California's death row for 12 years. His dark, rough features were recognized around the world, and his name became a rallying cry from South America to the Vatican. He was mid-century America's toughest hooligan intellectual, a […]