Updated and reprinted with permission by truecrimecalifornia.com (May 2014)
In 1850, while California was granted statehood, laws were steadily being established, but law enforcement was crude and uncivilized.
As barbaric and greedy as gold miners and Mexican bandidos were known to be, so too were the posses used to enforce new laws, and bring in the outlaws.
Such was the case in 1853, when the California State Legislature signed a bill to fund the capture of "The Five Joaquins".
JOAQUIN MURRIETA: CALIFORNIA'S INJUSTICE - Over 170 years ago, Mexican-American immigrant, Joaquin Murrieta and his associate Manuel Garcia, aka. "Three Finger Jack", were killed and dismembered by the California Rangers, a posse of 20 men recruited by the state.
The details of Murrieta's execution are well documented, however, by today's standards of law were not only unjust, but cruel and unusual.
The legend of Murrieta's life and unconfirmed death remain mysterious. Historically, he has been portrayed as a ruthless "gringo killer". Some see a patriotic fighter, protecting land that once belonged to Mexico. Still, others see a resemblance in the fictional character, Zorro, and romantic stories of the Old West. After all, there's nothing like a dark, mustang-wrangling, Californio to sell a novel. Very glamorous.
JOAQUIN CARRILLO MURRIETA was born in Sonora, Mexico in 1829. Joaquin married very young and traveled with his teen bride, Rosita Feliz, and his brother to Alta California in 1848. Like many settlers, the trio was seeking "The American Dream" and the gilded fortune waiting in the hills of California.
According to legend, Joaquin Murrieta was discriminated against for the next several years. He was forced off his land by vicious white miners. His brother was murdered and his wife, raped. Joaquin witnessed this cruelty while he was tied and horse-whipped.
It is also believed that the "Foreign Miners Tax" played a role in the undoing of Joaquin Murrieta. The tax was too hefty and made way for criminals to prey upon anyone who wasn't a white-skinned American.
After abandoning his gold claims and legal gaming operations, Joaquin allegedly started robbing and killing gold miners, one by one, for pure revenge.
Up and down the state, gangs of cattle rustlers and horse thieves (not always Mexican) would continually steal horses and attack mining camps. In those days, there were white horse thieves as well, who raided Mexican Ranchos and even Indian Rancherias, and yet again, it was assumed to be Joaquin. Always Joaquin.
CALIFORNIA HISTORY: Wild and gruesome tales are told of this historic Californian, few of which can be verified. One thing is certain, in the spring of 1853, Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta and anyone named Joaquin became wanted men, "dead or alive", by the State of California.
According to statements made by officials, Joaquin Murrieta and Manuel Garcia were located and gunned down on July 25, 1853, in Mariposa County, today's San Benito. The suspect was immediately decapitated, his body left behind, while his head and the hand of his three fingered partner were preserved in a jar of whiskey to be taken as proof when collecting the large bounty.
The facts of this case were never authenticated. No facts come to light when a suspect is murdered on sight. And sadly, no compassion is offered when a "dead or alive" reward is at stake.
If it was, in fact, Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta, he certainly didn't get his day in court to defend himself. And if it wasn't, the California Rangers murdered an innocent man.
In a a sworn statement given by Sonora resident, Ignacio Lisaragga, it was indeed the head of Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta. It's important to remember though, that during the 1850's the name Joaquin was a common Mexican-American name.
Even the real Joaquin Murrieta had a cousin named Joaquin Murrieta.
It is doubtful the California Rangers continued searching for the remaining four "Joaquins" after receiving the reward. Such fervency dissolves when pockets are full. But what did continue was sickening and disgraceful.
The preserved head in question was taken on tour in California, as a spectacle.
Hundreds of Californians paid one dollar to view the head with gawking excitement. After that, the jarred head was kept on display behind the bar at the Gold Nugget Saloon in San Francisco.
When a severe earthquake hit the city in 1906, the head was assumed lost.
Photos of the severed head can be seen on Google Images. Some look obviously fake. One looks very real. In any case the photos are distasteful, disrespectful, and will not be shown here on True Crime California.
*The above photo is taken from a vintage postcard. The reverse side says, "This picture is claimed to be an actual photograph of Joaquin Murietta, the famous Mother Lode bandit, taken in 1850, when he was operating a "gambling tent" on Main Street in Murphy's, California." It goes on to say the original daguerreotype is kept in the Old Timer's Museum in Murphy's. As of today's date, this museum has been permanently closed, however, the museum keeps a Facebook Page.
*For additional information on Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta, visit "The International Association of the Descendants of Joaquin Murrieta" also on Facebook.
In conclusion, due process was not administered in this case.
Every person in America is innocent until proven guilty in a court of Law.
Today, this matters more than ever.
Currently, the death penalty is under moratorium in California.
Be Safe California. Stay on the Topside. True Love Never Dies.
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Tags: Joaquin Murrieta, California, Mexican-American, immigrant, California history, gold rush, old west, bandido, California Rangers, the five Joaquins
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