George Scott Graham (September 13, 1850 – July 4, 1931) was a

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member of the

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from

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. Graham was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He graduated from the law department of the

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at Philadelphia in 1870, and practiced law in Philadelphia. He was member of the select council of Philadelphia from 1877 to 1880, and an unsuccessful candidate for

District Attorney of Philadelphia The office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia is the largest prosecutor's office in the state of Pennsylvania and oversees a jurisdiction that includes more than 1.5 million citizens of both the city and county of Philadelphia. The current ...

in 1877. He was elected district attorney of Philadelphia in 1880 and served until 1899. He later resumed the practice of law in Philadelphia and

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. He was a professor of criminal law and procedure in the University of Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1898. He was a

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to the Republican National Conventions in

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and

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. He was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1912, and served until his death at his summer home in

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Notable Criminals Brought to Trial

While serving as Philadelphia District Attorney, Graham tried several notable cases. In 1887, Graham prosecuted Hannah Mary Tabbs and George H. Wilson for the murder and dismemberment of Wakefield Gains. In his opening statement, he declared, "We will show by scientific testimony that Wakefield Gains was dismembered while there was yet life in the body." Wilson was convicted of first degree murder, but was granted a new trial. Judge Hare accepted a plea of second degree murder and sentenced Wilson to twelve years in

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. For Hannah Mary Tabbs part in the murder, the judge sentenced her to two years in prison. In 1895, District Attorney Graham prosecuted notorious criminal Jimmy Logue's stepson, Alphonso Cutaiar, for the murder of Logue's wife, Johanna, whose body was found in their old home underneath the kitchen floor.

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Detective Frank Geyer originally thought Jimmy committed the murder but after Jimmy's story checked out and all evidence pointed to his stepson, who eventually confessed to her murder, Cutaiar was arrested and convicted of first degree murder. By far the most famous case he prosecuted as district attorney was H. H. Holmes, one of America's first serial killers. Although Holmes confessed to killing twenty-seven men, women, and children, he was only tried for killing his business partner, Benjamin Pitezel. Graham worked closely with Detective Frank Geyer and requested he search for Pitezel's missing three children, whom Holmes took temporary custody of after Benjamin's death. Geyer went on a cross-country, international search for the children, which led him to discover their remains in two locations, Irvington and Canada. However, Graham made it clear, Holmes was to be tried only for Benjamin Pitezel and if found not guilty, he would consider extraditing Holmes to Indianapolis or

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for the murders of the children. Holmes was found guilty and was hung May 7, 1896.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, George S. Philadelphia City Council members District Attorneys of Philadelphia Pennsylvania lawyers 1850 births 1931 deaths University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Politicians from Philadelphia Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Notable Criminals Brought to Trial

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