List of people executed in Arkansas

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The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Arkansas since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in the United States.

Contents

31 people have been executed in Arkansas since 1976: 30 males and 1 female (Christina Marie Riggs). All but John Swindler (who was executed by electric chair) were executed by lethal injection. All were executed for the crime of murder. [1]

List of people executed in Arkansas since 1976

No.NameRaceAgeSexDate of executionMethodVictim(s)Governor
1 John Edward Swindler White46MJune 18, 1990 Electrocution Fort Smith police officer Randy Basnett [lower-alpha 1] Bill Clinton
2 Ronald Gene Simmons White49MJune 25, 1990 Lethal injection 16 murder victims [lower-alpha 2]
3 Ricky Ray Rector Black42MJanuary 24, 1992 Conway police officer Robert Martin
4Steven Douglas HillWhite25MMay 7, 1992 Arkansas State police officer Robert Klein
5Edward Charles PickensBlack39MMay 11, 1994Wesley Noble Jim Guy Tucker
6 Jonas Hoten Whitmore White50MEssie Mae Black
7 Hoyt Franklin Clines White37MAugust 3, 1994 Donald Lehman
8 Darryl V. Richley White43M
9 James William Holmes White37M
10 Richard Wayne Snell White64MApril 19, 1995William Stumpp
11 Barry Lee Fairchild Black41MAugust 31, 1995Marjorie Mason
12William Frank ParkerWhite41MAugust 8, 1996James Warren and Sandra Warren Mike Huckabee
13Paul RuizHispanic49MJanuary 8, 1997 Magazine Town Marshall Marvin Richie and Opal James [lower-alpha 3] [2]
14Earl Von DentonWhite47M
15Kirt Douglas WainwrightBlack30MBarbara Smith
16Eugene Wallace PerryWhite53MAugust 6, 1997Kenneth Staton and Suzanne Staton-Ware
17Wilburn A. HendersonWhite56MJuly 8, 1998Willa Dean O'Neal
18Johnie Michael CoxWhite42MFebruary 16, 1999Marie Sullens, Margaret Brown, and Billy Brown
19 Marion Albert Pruett White49MApril 12, 1999Bobbie Jean Robertson [lower-alpha 4]
20 Mark Edward Gardner White43MSeptember 8, 1999Joe Joyce, Martha Joyce, and Sara McCurdy
21 Alan Willett White52MEric Willett and Roger Willett
22 Christina Marie Riggs White28FMay 2, 2000Justin Riggs and Shelby Alexis Riggs
23 David Dewayne Johnson Black37MDecember 19, 2000Leon Brown
24 Clay King Smith White30MMay 8, 20015 murder victims [lower-alpha 5]
25 Riley Dobi Noel Black31MJuly 9, 2003Marcell Young, Malak Hussian, and Mustafa Hussian
26 Charles Laverne Singleton Black44MJanuary 6, 2004Mary Lou York
27 Eric Randall Nance White45MNovember 28, 2005Julie Heath
28 Ledell T. Lee Black51MApril 20, 2017Debra Reese Asa Hutchinson
29 Jack Harold Jones Jr. White52MApril 24, 2017Mary Phillips [lower-alpha 6]
30Marcel Wayne WilliamsBlack46MStacy Rae Errickson
31 Kenneth Dewayne Williams Black38MApril 27, 2017Cecil Boren [lower-alpha 7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Swindler was also convicted in South Carolina for killing Gregory Becknell and Dorothy Rhodes
  2. ↑ The 16 victims were: Ronald Simmons Jr., Bersabe Simmons, Barbara Simmons, Loretta Simmons, Eddy Simmons, Marianne Simmons, Rebecca Simmons, William Simmons II, Renata Simmons, William Simmons III, Sheila McNulty, Dennis McNulty, Sylvia McNulty, Michael McNulty, Kathleen Kendrick, and James Chaffin.
  3. ↑ Ruiz and Von Denton also killed four other people in Louisiana and Oklahoma.
  4. ↑ Pruett also killed four other people in New Mexico, Mississippi and Colorado.
  5. ↑ The 5 victims were: Misty Erwin, Shelley Sorg, Sean Sorg, Taylor Sorg, and Samantha Rhodes.
  6. ↑ Jones also killed Regina Harrison and Lori Barrett in Florida.
  7. ↑ Williams was previously convicted of murdering Dominique Hurd and Jerrell Jenkins.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United States</span> Legal penalty in the United States

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Arkansas.

John Edward Swindler was an American murderer and suspected serial killer who was executed by the state of Arkansas for the 1976 murder of a Fort Smith police officer. He was also convicted of the murders of two teenagers in Columbia, South Carolina, and was charged but never convicted of another murder in Florida. Swindler was the first person to be executed by the state of Arkansas since 1964, and is the only person to have been executed in the electric chair in Arkansas since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976.

Capital punishment for juveniles in the United States existed until March 2, 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in Roper v. Simmons. Prior to Roper, there were 71 people on death row in the United States for crimes committed as juveniles.

Hanging has been practiced legally in the United States of America from before the nation's birth, up to 1972 when the United States Supreme Court found capital punishment to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Four years later, the Supreme Court overturned its previous ruling, and in 1976, capital punishment was again legalized in the United States. As of 2023, only New Hampshire has a law specifying hanging as an available secondary method of execution, and even then only for the one remaining capital punishment sentence in the state.

Capital punishment is currently a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Kansas, although it has not been used since 1965.

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The relationship between race and capital punishment in the United States has been studied extensively. As of 2014, 42 percent of those on death row in the United States were Black. As of October 2002, there were 12 executions of White defendants where the murder victim was Black, however, there were 178 executed defendants who were Black with a White murder victim. Since then, the number of white defendants executed where the murder victim was black has increased to just 21, whereas the number of Black defendants executed where the murder victim was White has increased to 299. 54 percent of people wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in the United States are black.

References

  1. ↑ "Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center". Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  2. ↑ Parrish, Glenn. "Murders Still Fresh, Four Decades Later". Southwest Times Record.
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