No. 44

I came across a site the other day, with this photo. And as I tend to do when looking for something, I leave other interesting windows open as I go, hoping that later that night I'll take a proper look, but never do. But for some reason, this photo just stood out. Whatever I was doing, she kept staring back at me. Eerie.

She looks partly relaxed, yet slightly tense, wary, sad, almost fait acompli.

Or maybe I'm just sensing what I already know, because the photo is listed as being from the Arkansas State Prison 1915-1937, although she's not actually marked or listed as a prisoner, like in the other photos on the same site.

Was she really a prisoner? What crime did she commit? Who was she? When was she born? When was this photo taken? And when did she die?

I came across the photo through another Australian blog, but I couldn't find the site when I went back in my history or googled the link. My apologies for not crediting it. I found that BoingBoing and other sites also posted it back in December 2004, so I don't know why I missed it, maybe it's just this photo...