Post by Morgan Sierra on Dec 15, 2014 23:46:20 GMT -6
Since it is almost Christmas I am going to share this story about an event that occurred in Cisco, Texas many decades ago. It sort of has a Christmas theme to it since Santa Claus was involved, or at least a man dressed like Ol' St. Nick. What the guy did wasn't very jolly though.
When Santa Claus Robbed a Bank
By Morgan Sierra
In the early 1900s the banking industry was beginning to expand due to a constitutional amendment which allowed the chartering of state banks. Along with it grew a dubious profession known as bank robbing. As soon as a new bank opened its doors it seemed as if there were robbers lined up waiting to make illicit withdrawals. Many young men quickly made a well known albeit ill-gotten name for themselves. People like Frank Jackson and Raymond Hamilton became quite well known for it, and a wiry youngster by the name of Clyde Barrow was beginning to make his mark. By the late 1920s the situation had deteriorated to the point that banks were being robbed at the rate of three or four per day. This was partially due to the fact that many small towns only had a local sheriff or constable to uphold the law and virtually no chance of doing so. This prompted the Texas State Bankers Association to take matters into their own hands. In the Fall of 1927 they announced that they would pay a staggering five thousand dollar reward to anybody who killed a bank robber caught in the act. This was meant more as intimidation than reprobation, for while it stipulated the money could be had for a dead robber it also claimed "not one cent for a hundred live ones." It was the type of threat the criminal mind would understand and waver in the face of, they said, yet despite the severity of the warning the crimes continued unabated. This was the situation in late 1927 when a new villain arrived on the scene.
The newcomer, a cheery, white-bearded old fellow was destined to become the most infamous Texas bank robber of all time. He was also one of the least successful since during his short career he robbed just one bank, got away with no money, and was finally wounded and captured after an escapade that resembled a Marx Brothers comedy routine. Who was this unlucky, bumbling burglar? None other than that jolly old giver of good will, Santa Claus.
How old Saint Nicholas came to be a hardened criminal is an interesting story, and it all started on December 23, 1927 in the small West Texas town of Cisco.
Marshall Ratliff was the one responsible for the idea of robbing the bank and he was also the man beneath the Santa mask. Having lived most of his life in Cisco he needed a disguise to keep from being recognized by the bank employees. He borrowed the costume from a friend in Wichita Falls, possibly as some vain attempt at a joke since it was the holiday season, but more than likely it was just a last minute thought before they left on the two hundred mile drive to Cisco.
The next day a mysterious blue sedan pulled into town and unloaded its' Christmas cargo. "Santa" began nonchalantly strolling towards the First National Bank of Cisco when he immediately noticed the first flaw in his plan. A group of children had quickly surrounded him and began asking for candy and gifts. Smiling and cursing under his breath Santa waved and continued on towards his target. There he was joined by the other members of his gang. When the man in the red suit walked through the doors of the bank all eyes were glued to him which allowed his three accomplices to enter undetected. These men were no elves however. Most of them were ex-cons and they carried guns. Henry Helms and Robert Hill had both served time in the State penitentiary at Huntsville. The other member of the band was Louis Davis, a family man and farm boy who was a last minute substitute. The bank employees had not even noticed the three men until one of them yelled, "Stick 'em up!"
"What do you mean?" asked Jewell Poe, the only teller on duty at the time.
"I mean business, Big Boy!" came the reply. That plus the guns waving in their face convinced everyone of the seriousness of the situation. Poe and the other employees and customers quickly raised their hands and began following orders. The teller was directed to the cashier's office to open the vault while Alex Spears, another bank employee, was lined up along the wall with several customers. Two young girls, Laverne Comer and Emma May Robinson, were also trapped in the bank.
As Santa and Poe stuffed a sack with money and securities it appeared as if the crooks might just succeed with their plan. Everybody in the bank was under control, the getaway car was parked in the alley next to the back door, and so far nobody had recognized the man under the mask. It seemed that the crooks had planned things well...except for a few minor details that were about to become painfully apparent. The first had to do with the Santa costume. When Ratliff chose his disguise he did so in order to protect his identity. He apparently did not think about avoiding attention. the crowd of children who had trailed Santa to the bank were still milling around outside. They were joined by six year old Francis Blasengame who had dragged her mother across the street and into the bank to see Santa. They were greeted by the robbery in progress.
"They're gonna shoot Santa Claus! They're gonna shoot Santa Claus!" cried little Francis. Mrs. Blasengame also let out a scream of fright and tried to back out of the front door. Finding her way blocked by one of the robbers she reversed direction and proceeded to hustle her daughter all the way through the bank and out the side door.
"Stop or I'll shoot!" one of the robbers yelled half-heartedly, but it was too late. The two females had already escaped.
Once into the alley it was only a few steps to the police station where Mrs. Blasengame raised the alarm. Within seconds townspeople and police were arming themselves and heading towards the First National.
Inside the bank there was confusion. The robbers were still stunned by what had just happened, and even more alarmed to see faces peering in through the glass windows. One of the crooks fired several warning shots into the ceiling. This was answered immediately by a deadly fusillade from outside. A small army had surrounded the bank courtesy of the Texas Bankers Association. It seemed like everybody in town was anxious to kill a bank robber and collect their reward. Unfortunately this also put many innocent people in danger as bullets went bouncing and ricocheting in all directions.
Frantically Santa and his gang tried to hurry everybody out the side door and into the waiting getaway car but they found the alley filled with blazing guns. The first to enter this war zone was Alex Spears, the bank employee, who was immediately struck in the jaw with a bullet. The next hostage was also gunned down by accident. Santa then burst out of the door holding a woman in front of him as a shield. He ordered her into the car but instead she took off screaming down the alley and escaped. The next several hostages also made it to safety. All that was left were the two little girls who were told to stand on the running boards but they refused saying that they might fall off. Instead they were shoved into the car. Meanwhile the battle raged on.
Police chief G. E. "Bit" Bedford charged into the alley making himself into a six-foot-four-inch target. He was gunned down almost immediately when his shotgun jammed. Policeman George Carmichael was also shot down. On the bad guys' side Louis Davis was mortally wounded but still managed to crawl into the car.
Robert Hill was frantically trying to get the Buick started when a man ran up, stuck a shotgun in his face and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Hill started the car and roared away in a cloud of dust while his would-be assailant frantically tried to get his gun to fire. The man finally succeeded in blowing a hole in the side of the bank building.
The battle then shifted into a pursuit of the fleeing crooks. Angry citizens ran down the streets firing after them. Other people piled into available cars and continued the chase. By the time they reached the edge of town the getaway car had taken a pretty bad beating. Numerous bullet holes pitted the body and a flat tire was slowing it down but the bandits soon discovered that the car had a much more serious problem.
"We have to get another car!" Hill shouted from the driver's seat.
"Not until we get to another town." Santa yelled back.
"We don't have any choice," screamed Hill. "We're running out of gas!"
Apparently none of the gang had ever considered to fill the car's gas tank even though they had driven nearly 200 miles since they had stolen it. This was probably a natural error due to their unfamiliarity with automobiles but it was the most costly blunder of the burglary. Had it not been for that little oversight they probably would have gotten away. Instead they were forced to pull over and flag down another car.
The Ellis Harris family was driving in from a nearby town to do a little shopping when they saw a man in a Santa suit motioning for them to pull over. Fourteen year-old Woodrow Harris, who was driving, slowed to a stop. He instantly had a gun stuck in his face.
"Get out of the car!" ordered Santa.
"Yes sir." the youngster politely replied. With that he turned off the ignition, got out of the car, and walked away with the keys in his pocket.
The robbers hurriedly transferred people and supplies into the new car as the pursuing posse began to catch up. Bullets were whizzing by as they finally got the dying Davis loaded, threw in the bag of loot and piled in. That was when Henry Helms, who had taken the position behind the steering wheel, discovered the missing key.
"Where's the key?" he screamed.
"Forget the key! Jump the ignition." somebody ordered.
"There's no time. Besides, this gearshift has some kind of lock on it. I've got to have the key!"
Hearing this bit of news Santa bellowed some mighty unfestive words and proceeded to transfer everybody back into the original car. They decided to leave Davis behind since he was practically dead. They also left something else, although unintentionally, and it was not until they were roaring out of town before one of them thought to ask about it.
"Hey, who's got the money sack?"
Up to this point what would come to be known as the Santa Claus bank robbery had been a daffy but deadly comedy of errors. In planning the operation it seemed as if the crooks had taken everything into account except for the most pertinent details. Disguising themselves unobtrusively, controlling the hostages, gassing the getaway car and making their escape had all been taken for granted. Not to mention the forgotten money sack. The bag, containing $12,200 in cash and over $150,000 in securities was recovered and redeposited into the bank. The robbers were empty-handed and surrounded yet despite all of their blunders and incredible mistakes, and regardless of the fact that practically everybody in town had given chase, the remaining trio managed to slip away and hide in the surrounding wilderness.
It would take several more days and hundreds of men to finally capture them. The search party was enormous and was in fact the largest manhunt ever recorded in the state of Texas. Sheriffs from eight different counties joined the hunt, along with Texas Rangers, the Highway Patrol, a large number of citizens and a few bloodhounds. A lookout in an airplane searched from the sky but unfortunately the size of the posse hindered its effectiveness. Hundreds of people tramping through the brush erased the trail and threw the dogs off the track. The lack of radio communication caused more problems, as did the absence of discipline among the civilian volunteers. Whenever a clue was discovered the search would momentarily grind to a halt while everybody gathered around to examine the find. Inclement weather in the form of a Texas norther practically ceased the search altogether. Thus it was not until December 27 that the rest of the gang was captured.
The robbery and shootout at the bank lasted a total of about fifteen minutes. Official estimates put the total number of shots fired at between 150 and 200 but witnesses at the scene claimed that it was not even half enough. A total of eleven people were wounded or killed during the melee. Davis died later that afternoon in Fort Worth while Chief Bedford passed away that night. Officer Carmichael also succumbed to his wounds. The death of the two policemen assured Ratliff and Helms of the death penalty. Robert Hill was sentenced to life in prison.
People seemed more outraged at the audacity of the crime than at the crime itself. Bank robbery was common in Texas but nobody had ever had the gall to attempt to vilify a symbol of goodwill like Santa Claus. Children idolized him and adults tried to uphold that image. The fact that somebody would commit such a heinous crime while impersonating jolly old St. Nick was outrageous. It was more than just an attack on a bank, it was an all out assault on Christmas itself. The mood was such that on Christmas morning nobody in Cisco felt like dressing up like Santa Claus, which was probably just as well. Due to the mad rush to collect the dead robber award it is likely that anybody wearing a red suit would have been gunned down. As it was nobody could even remember who fired the shot that had killed Davis. The arguing went on for weeks and eventually everybody at the scene was remembering how it could have been their bullet that did the damage. Even Mrs. Blasengame got into the act by claiming that if she had not sounded the alarm there would not have been any robbers to shoot. Amidst all of the confusion the Bankers Association saw fit to not pay anything.
With Hill serving a life sentence and both Ratliff and Helms awaiting the electric chair it seemed as if the holiday caper had come to a close, but the drama was far from over. The two men on death row had found a loophole in the justice system that might have spared their life. The sanity Escape Clause stated that any convict who went insane during their term of imprisonment could not be executed until he regained his sanity. This provided the bandits with an opportunity to try to escape justice once more.
Henry Helms was first at bat and concocted a routine of chanting and disjointed singing that was enough to convince the state to grant him a sanity hearing. When he finally appeared in court he was wild-eyed and disheveled. He chanted, screamed and tore up papers, and always there was the ever-present singing. Many people in attendance were forced to leave the courtroom declaring that if they had remained inside much longer they would have been driven nuts themselves. Despite the theatrics however, Helms was found to be legally competent to be executed. On September 6, 1929 he met his fate in the electric chair.
Next it was Ratliff's turn and he proceeded to put on an even more impressive display than his partner had. He began babbling and slowly sank into a vegetative state. he would lie for hours helpless and unmoving. The guards would put him to bed in a certain position and the next morning he would still be exactly the same. He had to be dressed, bathed and cared for by the guards who quickly grew tired of the scheme. They decided to test Ratliff's resolve by jabbing forks at his eyes. He never blinked. On one occasion they stood him up and let go of him but he crashed to the floor without even trying to break his fall. This convinced many Huntsville officials that maybe it was not just an act and an insanity hearing was set.
Eastland officials were outraged at this obvious attempt at trickery and they promptly had Ratliff transferred back to Cisco to stand trial for auto theft. Perhaps being back in his hometown jarred his memory, or maybe he just realized that his ploy was working. Either way, on November 18, 1929, when the guard's back was turned, Ratliff suddenly came to life and tried to escape. He managed to obtain a gun and demanded the keys. In the resulting struggle officers Tom Jones and Pack Kilborn were badly wounded. Despite this, Ratliff was brought back under control and reincarcerated.
"Uncle" Tom Jones was a popular man in Cisco and following the failed escape attempt a crowd of people gathered the jail anxious to hear news of the jailor's condition. More and more people showed up and the gathering grew in size. By nightfall there was a mob of over two thousand people on hand. As Uncle Tom's health deteriorated so did the mood of the mob. The began chanting "We want Santa Claus!" over and over again. When the guards would not turn him over the crowd stormed the jail and dragged Ratliff out into the street. They quickly threw a rope over a telephone wire, tied it around the prisoner's neck and strung him up. Unfortunately, as with the rest of the Santa Claus caper there was something waiting to go wrong. The rope broke and Ratliff fell back to earth stunned but alive. A new rope was produced and the helpless man was once more hung from the wire. He died quickly.
He was buried in Fort worth at a small ceremony on November 23, 1929. As the mourners filed out of the funeral parlor to head for the cemetery they were interrupted by a big parade which announced the opening of the Christmas season at the big department store. At the head of the procession was a make-believe Santa, waving and smiling to the crowd. A final ironic reminder of the time when Santa Claus robbed a bank.
When Santa Claus Robbed a Bank
By Morgan Sierra
In the early 1900s the banking industry was beginning to expand due to a constitutional amendment which allowed the chartering of state banks. Along with it grew a dubious profession known as bank robbing. As soon as a new bank opened its doors it seemed as if there were robbers lined up waiting to make illicit withdrawals. Many young men quickly made a well known albeit ill-gotten name for themselves. People like Frank Jackson and Raymond Hamilton became quite well known for it, and a wiry youngster by the name of Clyde Barrow was beginning to make his mark. By the late 1920s the situation had deteriorated to the point that banks were being robbed at the rate of three or four per day. This was partially due to the fact that many small towns only had a local sheriff or constable to uphold the law and virtually no chance of doing so. This prompted the Texas State Bankers Association to take matters into their own hands. In the Fall of 1927 they announced that they would pay a staggering five thousand dollar reward to anybody who killed a bank robber caught in the act. This was meant more as intimidation than reprobation, for while it stipulated the money could be had for a dead robber it also claimed "not one cent for a hundred live ones." It was the type of threat the criminal mind would understand and waver in the face of, they said, yet despite the severity of the warning the crimes continued unabated. This was the situation in late 1927 when a new villain arrived on the scene.
The newcomer, a cheery, white-bearded old fellow was destined to become the most infamous Texas bank robber of all time. He was also one of the least successful since during his short career he robbed just one bank, got away with no money, and was finally wounded and captured after an escapade that resembled a Marx Brothers comedy routine. Who was this unlucky, bumbling burglar? None other than that jolly old giver of good will, Santa Claus.
How old Saint Nicholas came to be a hardened criminal is an interesting story, and it all started on December 23, 1927 in the small West Texas town of Cisco.
Marshall Ratliff was the one responsible for the idea of robbing the bank and he was also the man beneath the Santa mask. Having lived most of his life in Cisco he needed a disguise to keep from being recognized by the bank employees. He borrowed the costume from a friend in Wichita Falls, possibly as some vain attempt at a joke since it was the holiday season, but more than likely it was just a last minute thought before they left on the two hundred mile drive to Cisco.
The next day a mysterious blue sedan pulled into town and unloaded its' Christmas cargo. "Santa" began nonchalantly strolling towards the First National Bank of Cisco when he immediately noticed the first flaw in his plan. A group of children had quickly surrounded him and began asking for candy and gifts. Smiling and cursing under his breath Santa waved and continued on towards his target. There he was joined by the other members of his gang. When the man in the red suit walked through the doors of the bank all eyes were glued to him which allowed his three accomplices to enter undetected. These men were no elves however. Most of them were ex-cons and they carried guns. Henry Helms and Robert Hill had both served time in the State penitentiary at Huntsville. The other member of the band was Louis Davis, a family man and farm boy who was a last minute substitute. The bank employees had not even noticed the three men until one of them yelled, "Stick 'em up!"
"What do you mean?" asked Jewell Poe, the only teller on duty at the time.
"I mean business, Big Boy!" came the reply. That plus the guns waving in their face convinced everyone of the seriousness of the situation. Poe and the other employees and customers quickly raised their hands and began following orders. The teller was directed to the cashier's office to open the vault while Alex Spears, another bank employee, was lined up along the wall with several customers. Two young girls, Laverne Comer and Emma May Robinson, were also trapped in the bank.
As Santa and Poe stuffed a sack with money and securities it appeared as if the crooks might just succeed with their plan. Everybody in the bank was under control, the getaway car was parked in the alley next to the back door, and so far nobody had recognized the man under the mask. It seemed that the crooks had planned things well...except for a few minor details that were about to become painfully apparent. The first had to do with the Santa costume. When Ratliff chose his disguise he did so in order to protect his identity. He apparently did not think about avoiding attention. the crowd of children who had trailed Santa to the bank were still milling around outside. They were joined by six year old Francis Blasengame who had dragged her mother across the street and into the bank to see Santa. They were greeted by the robbery in progress.
"They're gonna shoot Santa Claus! They're gonna shoot Santa Claus!" cried little Francis. Mrs. Blasengame also let out a scream of fright and tried to back out of the front door. Finding her way blocked by one of the robbers she reversed direction and proceeded to hustle her daughter all the way through the bank and out the side door.
"Stop or I'll shoot!" one of the robbers yelled half-heartedly, but it was too late. The two females had already escaped.
Once into the alley it was only a few steps to the police station where Mrs. Blasengame raised the alarm. Within seconds townspeople and police were arming themselves and heading towards the First National.
Inside the bank there was confusion. The robbers were still stunned by what had just happened, and even more alarmed to see faces peering in through the glass windows. One of the crooks fired several warning shots into the ceiling. This was answered immediately by a deadly fusillade from outside. A small army had surrounded the bank courtesy of the Texas Bankers Association. It seemed like everybody in town was anxious to kill a bank robber and collect their reward. Unfortunately this also put many innocent people in danger as bullets went bouncing and ricocheting in all directions.
Frantically Santa and his gang tried to hurry everybody out the side door and into the waiting getaway car but they found the alley filled with blazing guns. The first to enter this war zone was Alex Spears, the bank employee, who was immediately struck in the jaw with a bullet. The next hostage was also gunned down by accident. Santa then burst out of the door holding a woman in front of him as a shield. He ordered her into the car but instead she took off screaming down the alley and escaped. The next several hostages also made it to safety. All that was left were the two little girls who were told to stand on the running boards but they refused saying that they might fall off. Instead they were shoved into the car. Meanwhile the battle raged on.
Police chief G. E. "Bit" Bedford charged into the alley making himself into a six-foot-four-inch target. He was gunned down almost immediately when his shotgun jammed. Policeman George Carmichael was also shot down. On the bad guys' side Louis Davis was mortally wounded but still managed to crawl into the car.
Robert Hill was frantically trying to get the Buick started when a man ran up, stuck a shotgun in his face and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Hill started the car and roared away in a cloud of dust while his would-be assailant frantically tried to get his gun to fire. The man finally succeeded in blowing a hole in the side of the bank building.
The battle then shifted into a pursuit of the fleeing crooks. Angry citizens ran down the streets firing after them. Other people piled into available cars and continued the chase. By the time they reached the edge of town the getaway car had taken a pretty bad beating. Numerous bullet holes pitted the body and a flat tire was slowing it down but the bandits soon discovered that the car had a much more serious problem.
"We have to get another car!" Hill shouted from the driver's seat.
"Not until we get to another town." Santa yelled back.
"We don't have any choice," screamed Hill. "We're running out of gas!"
Apparently none of the gang had ever considered to fill the car's gas tank even though they had driven nearly 200 miles since they had stolen it. This was probably a natural error due to their unfamiliarity with automobiles but it was the most costly blunder of the burglary. Had it not been for that little oversight they probably would have gotten away. Instead they were forced to pull over and flag down another car.
The Ellis Harris family was driving in from a nearby town to do a little shopping when they saw a man in a Santa suit motioning for them to pull over. Fourteen year-old Woodrow Harris, who was driving, slowed to a stop. He instantly had a gun stuck in his face.
"Get out of the car!" ordered Santa.
"Yes sir." the youngster politely replied. With that he turned off the ignition, got out of the car, and walked away with the keys in his pocket.
The robbers hurriedly transferred people and supplies into the new car as the pursuing posse began to catch up. Bullets were whizzing by as they finally got the dying Davis loaded, threw in the bag of loot and piled in. That was when Henry Helms, who had taken the position behind the steering wheel, discovered the missing key.
"Where's the key?" he screamed.
"Forget the key! Jump the ignition." somebody ordered.
"There's no time. Besides, this gearshift has some kind of lock on it. I've got to have the key!"
Hearing this bit of news Santa bellowed some mighty unfestive words and proceeded to transfer everybody back into the original car. They decided to leave Davis behind since he was practically dead. They also left something else, although unintentionally, and it was not until they were roaring out of town before one of them thought to ask about it.
"Hey, who's got the money sack?"
Up to this point what would come to be known as the Santa Claus bank robbery had been a daffy but deadly comedy of errors. In planning the operation it seemed as if the crooks had taken everything into account except for the most pertinent details. Disguising themselves unobtrusively, controlling the hostages, gassing the getaway car and making their escape had all been taken for granted. Not to mention the forgotten money sack. The bag, containing $12,200 in cash and over $150,000 in securities was recovered and redeposited into the bank. The robbers were empty-handed and surrounded yet despite all of their blunders and incredible mistakes, and regardless of the fact that practically everybody in town had given chase, the remaining trio managed to slip away and hide in the surrounding wilderness.
It would take several more days and hundreds of men to finally capture them. The search party was enormous and was in fact the largest manhunt ever recorded in the state of Texas. Sheriffs from eight different counties joined the hunt, along with Texas Rangers, the Highway Patrol, a large number of citizens and a few bloodhounds. A lookout in an airplane searched from the sky but unfortunately the size of the posse hindered its effectiveness. Hundreds of people tramping through the brush erased the trail and threw the dogs off the track. The lack of radio communication caused more problems, as did the absence of discipline among the civilian volunteers. Whenever a clue was discovered the search would momentarily grind to a halt while everybody gathered around to examine the find. Inclement weather in the form of a Texas norther practically ceased the search altogether. Thus it was not until December 27 that the rest of the gang was captured.
The robbery and shootout at the bank lasted a total of about fifteen minutes. Official estimates put the total number of shots fired at between 150 and 200 but witnesses at the scene claimed that it was not even half enough. A total of eleven people were wounded or killed during the melee. Davis died later that afternoon in Fort Worth while Chief Bedford passed away that night. Officer Carmichael also succumbed to his wounds. The death of the two policemen assured Ratliff and Helms of the death penalty. Robert Hill was sentenced to life in prison.
People seemed more outraged at the audacity of the crime than at the crime itself. Bank robbery was common in Texas but nobody had ever had the gall to attempt to vilify a symbol of goodwill like Santa Claus. Children idolized him and adults tried to uphold that image. The fact that somebody would commit such a heinous crime while impersonating jolly old St. Nick was outrageous. It was more than just an attack on a bank, it was an all out assault on Christmas itself. The mood was such that on Christmas morning nobody in Cisco felt like dressing up like Santa Claus, which was probably just as well. Due to the mad rush to collect the dead robber award it is likely that anybody wearing a red suit would have been gunned down. As it was nobody could even remember who fired the shot that had killed Davis. The arguing went on for weeks and eventually everybody at the scene was remembering how it could have been their bullet that did the damage. Even Mrs. Blasengame got into the act by claiming that if she had not sounded the alarm there would not have been any robbers to shoot. Amidst all of the confusion the Bankers Association saw fit to not pay anything.
With Hill serving a life sentence and both Ratliff and Helms awaiting the electric chair it seemed as if the holiday caper had come to a close, but the drama was far from over. The two men on death row had found a loophole in the justice system that might have spared their life. The sanity Escape Clause stated that any convict who went insane during their term of imprisonment could not be executed until he regained his sanity. This provided the bandits with an opportunity to try to escape justice once more.
Henry Helms was first at bat and concocted a routine of chanting and disjointed singing that was enough to convince the state to grant him a sanity hearing. When he finally appeared in court he was wild-eyed and disheveled. He chanted, screamed and tore up papers, and always there was the ever-present singing. Many people in attendance were forced to leave the courtroom declaring that if they had remained inside much longer they would have been driven nuts themselves. Despite the theatrics however, Helms was found to be legally competent to be executed. On September 6, 1929 he met his fate in the electric chair.
Next it was Ratliff's turn and he proceeded to put on an even more impressive display than his partner had. He began babbling and slowly sank into a vegetative state. he would lie for hours helpless and unmoving. The guards would put him to bed in a certain position and the next morning he would still be exactly the same. He had to be dressed, bathed and cared for by the guards who quickly grew tired of the scheme. They decided to test Ratliff's resolve by jabbing forks at his eyes. He never blinked. On one occasion they stood him up and let go of him but he crashed to the floor without even trying to break his fall. This convinced many Huntsville officials that maybe it was not just an act and an insanity hearing was set.
Eastland officials were outraged at this obvious attempt at trickery and they promptly had Ratliff transferred back to Cisco to stand trial for auto theft. Perhaps being back in his hometown jarred his memory, or maybe he just realized that his ploy was working. Either way, on November 18, 1929, when the guard's back was turned, Ratliff suddenly came to life and tried to escape. He managed to obtain a gun and demanded the keys. In the resulting struggle officers Tom Jones and Pack Kilborn were badly wounded. Despite this, Ratliff was brought back under control and reincarcerated.
"Uncle" Tom Jones was a popular man in Cisco and following the failed escape attempt a crowd of people gathered the jail anxious to hear news of the jailor's condition. More and more people showed up and the gathering grew in size. By nightfall there was a mob of over two thousand people on hand. As Uncle Tom's health deteriorated so did the mood of the mob. The began chanting "We want Santa Claus!" over and over again. When the guards would not turn him over the crowd stormed the jail and dragged Ratliff out into the street. They quickly threw a rope over a telephone wire, tied it around the prisoner's neck and strung him up. Unfortunately, as with the rest of the Santa Claus caper there was something waiting to go wrong. The rope broke and Ratliff fell back to earth stunned but alive. A new rope was produced and the helpless man was once more hung from the wire. He died quickly.
He was buried in Fort worth at a small ceremony on November 23, 1929. As the mourners filed out of the funeral parlor to head for the cemetery they were interrupted by a big parade which announced the opening of the Christmas season at the big department store. At the head of the procession was a make-believe Santa, waving and smiling to the crowd. A final ironic reminder of the time when Santa Claus robbed a bank.