For that crime, he paid the price. For on May 10th of 1935,
along with Raymond Hamilton, Joe Palmer was executed in the State's
electric chair. Joe Palmer was so well liked by his fellow inmates,
that they pitched in funds to have him buried in San Antonio, Texas
as opposed to the prison's drab cemetery.
 
Over six decades have passed since Joe Palmer was buried and his
grave has been without a headstone for all these years. That is...
until recently! Patrick McConal author of "Over the Wall-The Men
Behind the 1934 Death House Escape", published by Eakin Press had
decided to do something about it after his talks with Palmer's
niece Martha Palmer of Lubbock, Texas.
 
Patrick McConal, a graduate student at Sam Houston State University,
is also a member of P.I.C. "Partners In Crime" an internet "Depression
Era Gangsters" discussion group which is headed by Sandy Jones and
Tony Brucia. Mr. McConal recruited some help from fellow P.I.C. members
and got the ball rolling. Martha Palmer had finally realized her longtime
dream, through the help of friends who saw fit, regardless of the life
that Joe Palmer led, to see him have a marker on his eternal resting
spot, and the San Antonio Express-News was there to report the event.