She was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison on the same day as two convicted accomplices, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins, all of whom were involved in a robbery that led to the murder of an elderly widow.

[1] Her story of adult criminal activity is told in the highly fictionalized 1958 film I Want to Live!, in which she was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Graham was born Barbara Elaine Ford in Oakland, California to Hortense Wood from Santa Cruz, who earned her living through prostitution.

At 22, with her good looks, red hair, and sex appeal, she worked for a time in San Francisco for a brothel madam named Sally Stanford.

She soon became involved in gambling and illegal drug circles, cultivating a number of friends who were ex-convicts and known career criminals.

She started an affair with Perkins, who told her about a 64-year-old widow, Mabel Monohan,[7] who was alleged to keep a large amount of cash and jewelry in her home in Burbank, California.

Her ex-son-in-law was 74-year-old Luther B. Scherer (1879–1957), a multi-millionaire who was well known through his ownership of various gambling clubs in locations such as Palm Springs and casinos in Las Vegas.

Iris shortly thereafter married a different man and moved to New York, leaving her mother, Mabel Monohan, to reside in their former home.

Monohan and Scherer had remained close friends after the divorce and their continued friendship piqued public interest, gossip, and rumors that would later prove deadly.

[8] One rumor that was widely circulated amongst criminals and in local bars was that Scherer, due to his deep trust of Monohan, had left $100,000 ($1,044,292 value in 2022) cash stashed in a safe within the residence.

Shorter stated that he initially did not want Graham to participate because she was a "dame" but Perkins convinced him that it was the only way Monohan would open the front door.

[8] On the evening of March 9, 1953, Graham reportedly gained entry by knocking on the door and asked to use Monohan's phone due to car trouble.

Shorter claimed that at this point he threw Perkins to the floor and convinced True to remove the gag because he noticed Monohan was having trouble breathing.

However, Shorter's statement was leaked and he was later kidnapped and murdered by Perkins and Santo after his release from police custody shortly after his confession.

[8] Upon hearing of Shorter's disappearance and probable death, William Upshaw, a convicted felon, volunteered to testify before the grand jury.

Upshaw testified that he had been in the car with Barbara Graham, Perkins, Santo, True, and Shorter the night prior to the murder as the group conducted surveillance on Monohan's home and ran through the robbery plans.

The inmate, however, was working to reduce her own sentence, and the "friend", who offered to say he was with Graham the night of the murder, was a police officer.

"[15] Advised that taking a deep breath after the cyanide pellets were dropped would make her death easier, she replied, "How the hell would you know?

[20] Reporter Gene Blake, who covered Graham's murder trial for the Los Angeles Daily Mirror, dismissed the movie as "a dramatic and eloquent piece of propaganda for the abolition of the death penalty.