Maria Barbella

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Maria Barbella (October 24, 1868 - March 20, 1899--last we know of her) was the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair. She was involved in a controversial trial. Maria Barbella was born in Ferrandina, Italy. Her family immigrated to Mulberry Bend, New York in 1892. After living in the United States for nearly a year Maria Barbella met Domenico Cataldo. He was from the same region of Italy as Maria. She worked in a factory and everyday she would pass by Cataldo’s shoeshine booth. They spend lots of time together and soon the talk of marriage came about. All of these meetings were kept a secret from Michele Barbella,who was an over protective father. Michele found out about Domenico and he forbade Maria from ever seeing or speaking to him again. Domenico continued to pursue Maria until she finally gave in and allowed to meet with him again. Maria had very strong morals about intimacy and marriage. Cataldo took her to a boarding house where he seemingly drugged her through the drink he bought her, and took advantage of her. Because of her virtues, Barbella said that they would have to get married to make everything right. He promised they would marry in several months, but they never did. One of those meetings and the answer she received was the start many problems in Maria’s “needy” world. He was already married to a woman in Italy, with whom he had children. Domenico said he was going back to Italy so he wouldn’t be able to marry her. Maria was devastated. She had never felt loved, and know that someone made her feel loved, only to use her, her self esteem was shattered. Maria told her mother about the situation. Her mother confronted Domenico and insisted he marry Maria. He said the only way he would do that was if they paid him $200, money that they didn’t have. After hearing this Maria stabbed him. On April 27 of 1895 the Times printed a story on how Maria had cut his throat. This situation had clearly hurt her and maybe even driven her to insanity.

She was arrested and put in New York Prison a.k.a the Tombs for 2 ½ months. Her appointed attorneys were Amos Evans and Henry Sedgwick. The trial began on July 11. This case stirred up controversy for Italians felt that the verdict was unjust because there were no Italians on the jury. She admitted to everything - how she slit his throat and how he ran after her, but couldn’t reach her since he dropped dead. Even Judge Goff had mercy for her because he felt she acted accordingly. He said this because he knew she was intimidated by Domenico and didn’t know how to handle the situation. However he felt that the jury should make their decision based on the guidelines of justice opposed to pity. The jury’s verdict — guilty. She was sent to Sing Sing prison where she would be the first woman to be executed by an electric chair. Many complained to the Governor about how the situation was handled, but it seemed nothing could be done. She was granted an appeal in 1896 in which she was suddenly said to be epileptic and mentally ill because of everything that went on. She was found not guilty, remarried and had a son. Her husband left her and remarried in Italy in 1902. She was the first female convict in 18 years that was sent to Sing Sing and the first woman to be sentenced to execution by electric chair. After 1902 nothing is known about her life.

Reliable Sources on this topic:

Fleischer, Lawrence. "Maria Barbella: The Unwritten Law and the Code of Honor in Gilded Age New York." From In Our Own Voices: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Italian and Italian American Women. Boca Raton, FL: Bordighera Press, 2003, pgs. 67-74.

Messina, Elizabeth G. "Women and Capital Punishment: The Trials of Maria Barbella." From In Our Own Voices: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Italian and Italian American Women. Boca Raton, FL: Bordighera Press, 2003, pgs. 53-65.

Pucci, Idanna. The Trials of Maria Barbella. New York: Vintage, 1996.