HOME





Rhonda Belle Martin
Rhonda Belle Martin (née Thomley; November 4, 1906 – October 11, 1957) was an American serial killer and family annihilator who was executed by the state of Alabama for the murder of Claude Carroll Martin, her fourth husband, in 1951. Martin's method of murder was rat poison; she was also accused of poisoning and murdering her own mother, as well as five of her seven children, all of whom were below the age of 12 at their deaths. Only one of her victims, her former step-son and fifth husband Ronald Martin, was known to have survived. Although she initially confessed to all the murders she was accused of committing, she later recanted her confession in the murders of two of her children. Martin's execution made her the third and final woman to be electrocuted in Alabama before the ''Furman v. Georgia'' ruling, as well as the last woman put to death in the state until 2002. Life before murders Rhonda Belle Thomley was born in 1906 in Alabama, to James Robert Thomley and Mary F ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Brackets
A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their names, that vary between British English, British and American English. "Brackets", without further qualification, are in British English the ... marks and in American English the ... marks. Other symbols are repurposed as brackets in specialist contexts, such as International Phonetic Alphabet#Brackets and transcription delimiters, those used by linguists. Brackets are typically deployed in symmetric pairs, and an individual bracket may be identified as a "left" or "right" bracket or, alternatively, an "opening bracket" or "closing bracket", respectively, depending on the Writing system#Directionality, directionality of the context. In casual writing and in technical fields such as computing or linguistic analysis of grammar, brackets ne ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

LIFE Magazine
''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly published "special" issues. Originally published from 1883 to 1936 as a general-interest and humor publication, it featured contributions from many important writers, illustrators and cartoonists of its time, such as Charles Dana Gibson and Norman Rockwell. In 1936, Henry Luce purchased the magazine, and relaunched it as the first all-photographic American news magazine. Its place in the history of photojournalism is considered one of its most important contributions to the world of publishing. From 1936 to the 1960s, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging general-interest magazine known for its photojournalism. During this period, it was one of the most popular magazines in the United States, with its circulation regularly reaching a quarter of the U.S. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Montgomery Advertiser
The ''Montgomery Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper and news website located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829. History The newspaper began publication in 1829 as ''The Planter's Gazette.'' Its first editor was Moseley Baker. It became the ''Montgomery Advertiser'' in 1833. In 1903, Richard F. Hudson Sr., a young Alabama newspaperman, joined the staff of the ''Advertiser'' and rose through the ranks of the newspaper. Hudson was central to improving the financial situation of the newspaper, and by 1924 he owned 10% of its stock. Hudson purchased the remaining shares of the company in 1935, and five years later he bought the '' Alabama Journal'', a competitor founded in Montgomery in 1889. Ownership of the ''Advertiser'' subsequently passed from Hudson's heirs to Carmage Walls (1963), through Multimedia Corp. (1968) to Gannett (1995). Grover C. Hall, Jr. (1915–1971) worked at the paper from age 20 and served 15 years as editor after World War II. He allied with ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

List Of Last Words
A person's last words, their final articulated words stated prior to death or as death approaches, are often recorded because of the decedent's fame, but sometimes because of interest in the statement itself. (People dying of illness are frequently inarticulate at the end, and in such cases their actual last utterances may not be recorded or considered very important.) Last words may be recorded accurately, or, for a variety of reasons, may not. Reasons can include simple error or deliberate intent. Even if reported wrongly, putative last words can constitute an important part of the perceived historical records or demonstration of cultural attitudes toward death at the time. Charles Darwin, for example, was reported to have disavowed his theory of evolution in favor of traditional religious faith at his death. This widely disseminated report served the interests of those who opposed Darwin's theory on religious grounds. However, the putative witness had not been at Darwin's dea ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Prison Religion
Prison religion includes the religious beliefs and practices of prison inmates, usually stemming from or including concepts surrounding their imprisonment and accompanying lifestyle. "Prison Ministry" is a larger concept, including the support of the spiritual and religious needs of prison guards and staff, whose work in an often demanding and brutal environment often creates a special need for pastoral care, similar to the care that is extended to the military, police officers and fire fighters. History Many religious groups often supply scripture and reading material, organize programs and worship, and train chaplains for work in prisons. Members of religious groups also engage in missionary activity, as there have been many instances of conversion throughout history. For instance, one of the earliest introductions of Islam into Eastern Europe was through the work of an early 11th-century Muslim prisoner who was captured by the Byzantines during their war against Muslims. The ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Psalm 23
Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 22. Like many psalms, Psalm 23 is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies. It has often been set to music. Interpretation of themes The theme of God as a shepherd was common in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. For example, King Hammurabi, in the conclusion to his famous legal code, wrote: "I am the shepherd who brings well-being and abundant prosperity; my rule is just.... so that the strong might not oppress the weak, and that even the orphan and the widow might be treated with justice." This imagery and language were well known to the community that c ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. The texts include instructions, stories, poetry, prophecies, and other genres. The collection of materials accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon. Believers generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah in Hebrew and the Pentateuch (meaning 'five books') in Greek. The second-oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the Nevi'im). The third co ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Birmingham News
''The Birmingham News'' was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two sister Alabama newspapers, the '' Press-Register'' in Mobile and '' The Huntsville Times'', moved to a thrice-weekly print-edition publication schedule (Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays). ''The News'' and its sister newspapers published their final print edition on February 26, 2023, after almost 135 years of publication. Their digital operation, AL.com, survives. History The ''Birmingham News'' was launched on March 14, 1888, by Rufus N. Rhodes as ''The Evening News'', a four-page paper with two reporters and $800 of operating capital. At the time, the city of Birmingham was only 17 years old, but was an already booming industrial city and a beacon of the " N ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Last Meal
A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief that all last meal requests, regardless of their complexity, must be fulfilled, various restrictions are in place over what can be requested. In the United States, most states give the meal a day or two before the actual execution and now use the euphemism "special meal". Alcohol and tobacco are usually, but not always, denied. Unorthodox or unavailable requests are replaced with similar substitutes. Some states place tight restrictions. Sometimes, a prisoner asks to share the last meal with another inmate (as Francis Crowley did with John Resko in 1932) or has the meal distributed among other inmates (as requested by Raymond Fernandez in 1951). In Florida, the food for the last meal must be purchased locally and the cost is limited to $ ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Julia Tutwiler Prison For Women
The Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women is a prison for women of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), located in Wetumpka, Alabama named after prison reform activist Julia Tutwiler. All female inmates entering ADOC are sent to the receiving unit in Tutwiler.Tutwiler Prison for Women
." Alabama Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 5, 2010.
Tutwiler houses Alabama's female , which qualifies it for the "maximum security" classification.


Julia S. Tutwiler on prison reform

Known as the "angel of the prisons", Tutwiler pushed for many ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Yellow Mama
Yellow Mama is the electric chair of the United States state of Alabama. It was used for executions from 1927 to 2002. First installed at Kilby Correctional Facility, Kilby State Prison near Montgomery, Alabama, the chair acquired its yellow color (and from it, the nickname "Yellow Mama") when it was painted with highway-line paint from the adjacent State Highway Department lab. The chair was built by British inmate Ed Mason in 1927 and was first used to execute Horace DeVaughan in that year. Mason was rewarded for his efforts with a 30-day pass, but he absconded and was later found in a New York state penitentiary. The last person put to death in Yellow Mama was Lynda Lyon Block, who was executed in 2002. The chair has since been stored in an attic above the execution chamber at the Holman Correctional Facility. History Background Before 1923, executions in Alabama were the responsibility of the individual counties, which carried them out by hanging in private gallows. In 1923, l ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jefferson County, Alabama
Jefferson County is the List of counties in Alabama, most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, located in the central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 674,721. Its county seat is Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. Its rapid growth as an industrial city in the 20th century, based on heavy manufacturing in steel and iron, established its dominance. Jefferson County is the central county of the Birmingham metropolitan area, Alabama, Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Jefferson County was established on December 13, 1819, by the Alabama Legislature. It was named in honor of former President of the United States, President Thomas Jefferson. The county is located in the north-central portion of the state, on the southernmost edge of the Appalachian Mountains. It is in the center of the (former) iron, coal, and limestone mining belt of the Southern United States. Most of the original settlers ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]