Episode 163 Toni Jo Henry Louisiana's Femme Fatale

In 1942, the state of Louisiana executed a woman in the electric chair for the first and only time in its history. She was young, beautiful, and utterly devoted to the man she loved, a Texas outlaw. Toni Jo Henry was willing to do anything to free him from prison which led her down a dark path…the cold-blooded killing of an innocent man. Toni Jo claimed her accomplice pulled the trigger. He said she did. Was Toni Jo Henry a ruthless killer, or a woman trapped by her tragic past and her devotion to the wrong man? 

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Episode Sources

• The Times: Former Shreveport Girl to Face jury for Lake Charles Slaying, March 24, 1940
• The News Star: Toni Jo Henry is denied new trial, May 25, 1942
• The Atlanta Journal: Woman Slayer, Awaiting death in chair, wisecracks over fate, August 4, 1942
• The Town Talk: High Court denies stay of execution for Toni Jo Henry, November 4, 1942
• Shreveport Journal: Toni Jo Henry Executed, November 28, 1942
• Del Rio News Herald: Kin of Toni Jo Henry Claim body for burial, November 30, 1942
• The DeQuincy News: Burks to follow Toni Jo to chair, High Court rules, December 4, 1942
• Greenville News: Trip of Death Ends as Burks electrocuted, March 24, 1943
• State v. Henry, 196 La. 217, 198 So. 910 (La. 1940)
• M. Watt Espy Papers: Documentation for the execution of Harold Burks, Toni Henry, 1943-03-23
• Harold Burks executed on 1943-03-23 in Louisiana (LA); Toni Henry executed on 1942-11-28 in Louisiana (LA)
• Find A Grave: Joseph Prince “Joe” Calloway
• Find A Grave: Claude David “Cowboy” Henry
• Find A Grave: Toni Jo Henry/Annie Beatrice McQuiston
• Nola Mae Ross: Crimes of the Past in South Louisiana, 2004

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.