Title	Edward J. Ralph portrait
Subject	Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law Capital punishment--Ohio--History Death row Electrocution Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio) Prisons--Ohio
Time Period	1940s
Place	Columbus (Ohio) Franklin County (Ohio) Cleveland (Ohio) Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
Description	This photograph from the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus is of 32-year-old Edward J. Ralph of Cuyahoga County. His formal attire suggests that the photograph was taken during his trial or sentencing. Ralph was convicted in the kidnapping and murder of 5-year-old Mary Jane Brady in Cleveland, Ohio. The caption at the bottom reads: “No. 238, Edward J. Ralph of Cuyahoga County, Legally Electrocuted October 4th, 1943, for the Murder of Mary Jane Brady.” In 1885 the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, became the location for all executions, which previously took place in the various county seats. In 1896 the Ohio General Assembly mandated that electrocution replace hanging as the form of capital punishment. The Ohio Penitentiary regularly offered tours as well as souvenir photographs and postcards of the building and prisoners on death row. A total of 315 prisoners, both men and women, were executed in the electric chair known as “Old Sparky” between 1897 and 1963.
Date of Original	1943
Collection	Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections
Source	State Archives Series 1000 AV; Box 4, No. 238
Format	Picture Mounted on Board Photograph
Submitting Institution	Ohio History Connection
Rights	Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
Type	StillImage
File Name	AL08292.tif
Image Height	2336
Image Width	2336
File Size	23731712 Bytes
Date created	2011-08-06

Edward J. Ralph portrait

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