The Life and Death of Bonnie and Clyde

The early 1920s was a prosperous time for America, people were selling and buying stocks, there was partying, and new money. The early 1920s was an amazing time to be alive, but then in the late 11920sthere was a crash in the stock market, and the great depression started. With the Great Depression starting a lot of people went broke and some stocks went to little or no value, with everyone going broke people couldn't afford to get by so they turned to crime.

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born on October 1, 1910, in Rowena, Texas, to Emma and Charles Parker. She and her two siblings were able to live comfortably for a short period during their childhood until their father died while Bonnie was still four years old. She and her sisters and mother had to move to their Grandmothers where crime lurked at every corner.  

At the age of 15 bonnie met a boy and married him, he abandoned her and eventually got sent to prison for robbery. 

Clyde Barrow was born on March 24, 1909, in Tellico, Texas to a poor farming family. Clyde had dreams of being famous just like Bonnie Parker, but due to influences by his big brother, Clyde turned to crime, at a young age Clyde turned to a life of crime. At first, it was just petty thieveries but over time he moved up and started stealing cars, and a little after that he moved up to armed robberies. At the young age of 20, Clyde Barrow was a fugitive of the law for his several armed robberies, carjackings, and petty stealings. 

Bonnie and Clyde had their first interaction in January 1929 with mutual friends and it was said that it was love at first sight. For several weeks they had a wonderful time with their romance before their love was halted due to Clyde being seized by authorities and convicted of several auto thieves. By this time Bonnie and Clyde were head over heels in love with each other. While Clyde was awaiting trial all he could think about was Bonnie and escape, Bonnie who was also overcome with heartache visited Clyde and gave him a gun. Clyde planned with his cellmates, Clyde used the gun later on March 11th, 1930, and successfully escaped with his cellmates, only to be captured a week later. Clyde was then sentenced to 14 years in prison. Bonnie and Clyde kept in touch while Clyde was in prison, his thoughts went back to escape, instead of escaping he cut off his big toe and part of his second toe to get out of prison due to terrible conditions. But he didn't have to do that because unbeknownst to him his mother had been talking to the judge involved in his case and he was granted parole, two weeks later he was out of prison and he and Bonny were back to each other.

For a while, after Clyde's release, he decided to go straight and be a working-class man, which was difficult to do to police harassment. After a while of the police harassing him at his job, he was fired. Once he had lost his job he had given up all hope for going straight and went back to crime, he had started up a gang and a little after that bonnie joined him. Their spree of crime and chaos had just begun. They began knocking off small businesses and banks, and Clyde had killed a police officer and store clerk which made him a wanted man with money for his head. 

Bonnie, Clyde, and one of Clyde's gang members wanted to lay low away from the public eye so they temporarily moved in with Clyde's brother, Buck in Joplin Missouri.  Bucks neighbors got suspicious of Bonnie, Clyde, and gang member W.B. Jones, so they informed the police of their presence.  The police showed up and a shootout erupted between the gang members and the law, Bonnie, Clyde, and Jones made it away but left two cops dead at the scene. Police retrieved film from the crime scene and discovered photos Bonnie and Clyde had taken, their face had been on wanted signs and newspaper all over.

Clyde, Bonnie, Buck, Bucks wife Blanche, and Jones were on the run still on a crime spree robbing every place they came by, which is why they were pursued by law enforcement constantly. Police found them in Platte City, Missouri in July 1933, where there was a shootout between law enforcement and Bonnie and Clyde's gang. Though Bonnie, Clyde, and Jones escaped Buck was badly injured, he and Blanche were taken by law enforcement. Buck died of his wounds a little after, Blanche was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Jones, who broke off from the notorious couple, was captured in November.

In January 1934 Clyde orchestrated an escape plan for Blanche.  Clyde got away with her and a few other inmates, in the process of escaping, one guard was killed.  One of the escapees Henry Methvin joined the Barron gang. Clyde and Henry killed three people a little after they escaped, two being highway patrolmen. With them being pursued by police they headed to Henry’s family's farm in Louisiana, when Henry’s father found out about this, he turned them in the condition that his son would be forgiven for his crimes. While driving there on May 23rd, 1934 Bonnie and Clyde were driving down an old Louisiana road when they saw Henry's father broke down on the side of the road, they pulled over to help him and the police who were hiding came out of their hiding places and opened fire on the infamous couple. Neither of them made it and they were so famous that souvenirs were made out of their hair and Clyde's ear.