2 or 3 things I know about her

Wells spent most of his life in prison, coming into the public eye in the early 1950’s, when he was sentenced to death for attacking a guard in Folsom Prison.

His book, “My Name Is Wesley Robert Wells” was published by the Civil Rights Congress in 1951 to gain public support for his case.

One of his few possessions was a trumpet, a gift from a long time supporter, on which he would play St. Louis Blues as he walked from his cell, to the gas chamber; a procession which he took several times in his ten years on Death Row.

Walter Winchell took up his cause and lobbied along with several attorneys, Charles Garry included, to win Wells repeated stays of execution. Eventually Wells sentence was commuted, and was released in the mid-1970s where he took up residence at the Delancey Street project. Despite 50 years of having the reputation of a “mad dog”, Wells was quickly labeled an “easy mark” on the street; between this and his conflicts with the Delancey street administration, his final years were troubled.

There are claims that another manuscript by Wells exists, “My Blood Into Wine”, in which he details his spiritual transformation through the course of his time on Death Row. In addition to his book, and the aforementioned putative manuscript, Wells also wrote his appeal to the California Supreme Court.

Wells at one time was the longest held prisoner in the California penal system.