A Just Us
Falling Through the Trap
Episode 9: #13 George Puttman
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Episode 9: #13 George Puttman

Friendship, revenge, and "the sins of the father."

The sins of Lloyd Majors in 1883 would reverberate for decades; most affected were his wife and children, but even those who never knew him would point to his crime as the origin of their own demise. When George Puttman committed a robbery on his 20th birthday in 1895 and was sent to Folsom Prison, he had no idea that it would be the last birthday he’d celebrate outside the prison walls. Nor did he realize that the execution of a man he never knew, would take him to the gallows five years later.

Mervin McKean, alias George Puttman, December 1895; source: Folsom Mug Books, (Ancestry.com)
George Puttman, 1899 after being sentenced to death; source: Folsom Mug Books (Ancestry.com)
George Puttman, 1899; source: personal collection
John Showers, circa 1883; Source: Ancestry.com
Lloyd Majors & Joseph Jewell, circa 1883; source: Legal Executions in California, by Sheila O’Hare, et al, 2006
Lucinda Webb Majors, date unknown; source: Find-A-Grave.com
Ina Willmore & her mother, Ella Willmore; source: The San Francisco Examiner, February 9, 1896 (source: Newspapers.com)
Abraham (Abe) Majors & Bert Willmore, 1896; source: Folsom Mug Books (Ancestry.com)
Archibald (Archie) Majors, abt 21-22 years old; source: San Francisco Chronicle, May 8, 1899 (source: Newspapers.com)
San Francisco Chronicle, May 7, 1899; source: (Newspapers.com)
William Anderson Brown; source: The Salt Lake Herald, May 1, 1899; source: (Newspapers.com)
The San Francisco Call & Post, October 11, 1899; source: (Newspapers.com)
The San Francisco Call & Post, May 14, 1899; source: (Newspapers.com)
The San Francisco Examiner, June 24, 1900; source: (Newspapers.com)
Abe Majors, 1899; source: Utah State Prison Records (Ancestry.com)
The Salt Lake Tribune, January 22, 1918
Salt Lake Herald, March 9, 1919
Abe Majors, 1920, before transfer to Folsom; San Quentin Prison Mugshots (Ancestry.com)
Abe Majors, 1920, Folsom Mug books (Ancestry.com)
Willard Precinct Cemetery; source: Find-A-Grave.com

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ABOUT THIS PODCAST: Step behind the walls of Folsom Prison where author and criminal justice professional, April Moore, delves into the haunting, yet profoundly human stories of the 93 men executed between 1895 and 1937. Join us as we explore the paradoxes of justice, taking a deeper look at the death penalty, and re-humanizing those that history might have left behind. One to two new episodes a month (and always on Fridays). Episode extras and bonus episodes available on Patreon!

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Robert Edwards
Why Grandma Never Got Her Fortune
This Land is My Land
Incarcerated Women and Girls
Women’s Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2024
The Situation of Incarcerated Women
Why it Matters that Women are Disproportionately Locked Up in America’s Jails
Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration

Music:

Intro: “Left for Dead” by Wastelander
“Invisible Line” by Stephen Keech
“Whiskey Hills” by Rest and Settle
“Out West” by Alsever Lake
“Stranded” by Wastelander
“Humid Blues” by Desert Dive
“Holy Wait” by Chelsea McGough
“Judgment Day Outside My Door” by Lost Ghosts
“Niagara” by The Realist
“A World Suspended” by Brent Wood
“Swamp Tale” by Dario Benedetti
“The Lantern” by Wicked Cinema
“The Untethering” by Heartland Nights
“Reverence,” by Marie
“Manitoba” by Shimmer
“O’Brother” by Wastelander
Outro: “Lamentation” by Wastelander

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