Dorothy Sherwood
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Sherwood was born in St. Louis, Missouri
in 1908. She was a burlesque
dancer and Salvation Army
worker who was convicted of first-degree murder for killing her two year old son.
worker. Her father was married six times and Sherwood was the daughter of his third wife. One of her older siblings died at eighteen months and another at five years of age. Sherwood's mother died when she was nine and she was placed in an orphanage. Salvation Army work, in 1925, followed her period in the orphanage. As a lassie, she wore a red-ribboned bonnet. In this endeavor she sang gospel hymns in six southern cities for approximately three years. From this job she moved on to dance in burlesque.
One day she saw an ad offering employment in show business to girls with fair singing voices. She answered the ad and went to work in Chicago, Illinois. In burlesque she never achieved the prominence of a stripper
. Instead she was always in the back row in the chorus. She married a stage hand, James Sherwood, the electrician of the burlesque company. Her marriage was conducted as a publicity stunt before an audience of burlesque fans during a regular performance. James was from a poor family in Newburgh, New York, a Hudson River
town.
When the company broke up, the couple returned to Newburgh. There James found sporadic work as a motion picture operator and Sherwood was employed as a waitress. Their daughter, then age seven, resided with his mother. At that time their other child, Jimmy, was an infant. James had tuberculosis
and died in a sanitarium in New York. Afterward Sherwood became engaged to a minor politician and dry county
agent. When she lost her job the engagement was broken. Her landlady evicted her when she could not afford the room and board.
history until then.
She carried Jimmy's body to the Newburgh police headquarters, exclaiming it was too hard to make a living for myself and the baby. Her husband died four months earlier.
state law to sentence her to die in the electric chair
at Sing Sing
. Two defense psychiatrists maintained that Sherwood was insane while two prosecution psychiatrists testified to the contrary. In 1936 all first degree murder convictions were reviewed by the New York Court of Appeals
.
War Veterans Association circulated petitions days later urging Governor Herbert Lehman to grant Sherwood an unconditional pardon. She won an appeal for a new trial. The Court of Appeals set aside the first degree murder conviction on July 8, 1936. She pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter
the following September 2, and received a six-to-fifteen year sentence. She was then 28.
Sherwood was freed on parole after serving three years and three months at the Westfield State Farm (Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women
) in Bedford Hills, New York
. The Salvation Army employed her doing clerical work in one of its institutions. Sherwood was allowed to visit her 11-year-old daughter, Dorothy May, who resided in Newburgh.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
in 1908. She was a burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
dancer and Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
worker who was convicted of first-degree murder for killing her two year old son.
Early life and marriage
She was the third child of a Scotch-Irish foundryFoundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
worker. Her father was married six times and Sherwood was the daughter of his third wife. One of her older siblings died at eighteen months and another at five years of age. Sherwood's mother died when she was nine and she was placed in an orphanage. Salvation Army work, in 1925, followed her period in the orphanage. As a lassie, she wore a red-ribboned bonnet. In this endeavor she sang gospel hymns in six southern cities for approximately three years. From this job she moved on to dance in burlesque.
One day she saw an ad offering employment in show business to girls with fair singing voices. She answered the ad and went to work in Chicago, Illinois. In burlesque she never achieved the prominence of a stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
. Instead she was always in the back row in the chorus. She married a stage hand, James Sherwood, the electrician of the burlesque company. Her marriage was conducted as a publicity stunt before an audience of burlesque fans during a regular performance. James was from a poor family in Newburgh, New York, a Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
town.
When the company broke up, the couple returned to Newburgh. There James found sporadic work as a motion picture operator and Sherwood was employed as a waitress. Their daughter, then age seven, resided with his mother. At that time their other child, Jimmy, was an infant. James had tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and died in a sanitarium in New York. Afterward Sherwood became engaged to a minor politician and dry county
Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
agent. When she lost her job the engagement was broken. Her landlady evicted her when she could not afford the room and board.
Crime
Sherwood drowned two-year-old Jimmy in Moodna Creek in Newburgh, on August 20, 1935. The case was exceptional, being the only first degree murder case involving a woman in Orange County, New YorkOrange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
history until then.
She carried Jimmy's body to the Newburgh police headquarters, exclaiming it was too hard to make a living for myself and the baby. Her husband died four months earlier.
Trial and sentence
Sherwood, 27, pleaded temporary insanity during her trial for the drowning of Jimmy in January 1936. The jury recommended mercy when it convicted her of first degree murder. The jury foreman mentioned that she had led a hard life. Trial Judge Jonathan D. Wilson was compelled by New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state law to sentence her to die in the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
at Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
. Two defense psychiatrists maintained that Sherwood was insane while two prosecution psychiatrists testified to the contrary. In 1936 all first degree murder convictions were reviewed by the New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
.
Appeal and parole
The United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
War Veterans Association circulated petitions days later urging Governor Herbert Lehman to grant Sherwood an unconditional pardon. She won an appeal for a new trial. The Court of Appeals set aside the first degree murder conviction on July 8, 1936. She pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
the following September 2, and received a six-to-fifteen year sentence. She was then 28.
Sherwood was freed on parole after serving three years and three months at the Westfield State Farm (Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women is a prison for women in Bedford Hills in the Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, USA. Bedford Hills, the only New York State Department of Correctional Services women's maximum security prison, is the largest women's prison in New York State...
) in Bedford Hills, New York
Bedford Hills, New York
Bedford Hills is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Bedford, New York.-History:When the railroad was built in 1847, Bedford Hills was known as Bedford Station. Bedford Hills extends from a business center at the railroad station to farms and estates, eastward along Harris, Babbitt and Bedford...
. The Salvation Army employed her doing clerical work in one of its institutions. Sherwood was allowed to visit her 11-year-old daughter, Dorothy May, who resided in Newburgh.