List of people executed in Delaware (pre-1972)

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The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Delaware before 1972, when capital punishment was briefly abolished by the Supreme Court's ruling in Furman v. Georgia . For executions after the restoration of capital punishment by the Supreme Court's ruling in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), see List of people executed in Delaware. [1]

Contents

Background

Historically, all executions in Delaware were carried out locally by hanging in county prisons ("workhouses") before 1972, when the Furman v. Georgia ruling briefly abolished capital punishment. Delaware independently abolished capital punishment in 1958 but reinstated it in 1961. [2] [3] [4] [5]

NameRaceAgeSexDate of executionCountyCrimeVictim(s)Governor
John SmithMDecember 21, 1815 New Castle Murder [6] Daniel Rodney
William PiperWhiteMApril 18, 1820 Sussex MurderFemale, white (mother) [7] John Collins
Jacob ElliottBlackMDecember 31, 1822 New Castle MurderJohn Kean, white [8] Caleb Rodney
Elisha SharpWhiteMNovember 8, 1825 Sussex MurderTwo people, white (wife and child) [9] Samuel Paynter
Robert MorrisMNovember 8, 1831 Sussex Murder [10] David Hazzard
Samuel WardBlack22MSeptember 8, 1852 New Castle MurderGeorge A. Davidson, white [11] William H. H. Ross
John BowenWhiteMFebruary 10, 1860 New Castle MurderJohn W. Dewlin, white [12] William Burton
John CannonBlack18MDecember 14, 1860 Sussex MurderMs. Griffin, 14, white [13] Gove Saulsbury
Sarah BradleyBlack18FMurderEllen Wright, 14 months, white [14]
Levi JenkinsBlack35MRapeFemale, black [15]
John CannonBlackMDecember 28, 1860 Kent RapeMary Ann Martin, white [16]
William ManluffBlack25MJuly 20, 1866 New Castle Aggravated burglary [a] Hannah Febiger Jones and Elizabeth Griffith, 71 and 20, white
Andrew ArmstrongWhite53MFebruary 8, 1867 New Castle MurderCaroline Douglass Armstrong, 36, white (wife) [17] [b]
Joshua JonesBlack17MFebruary 4, 1870 New Castle RapeMary Meredith, 43, white [18]
Louis CarpenterBlack21M
Edward YoungBlack19MJune 24, 1870 Kent Murder-RobberyThomas Hogan, 50, white
Benjamin JohnsonBlack33MDecember 16, 1870 Sussex RapeCharlotte Fletcher, 28, white [19] [c]
Andrew ClarkBlack41MJuly 12, 1872 New Castle RapeMartha Rakes, 14, black [20] [21] James Ponder
William DennisBlack20MJanuary 24, 1873 New Castle RapeMary Thompson, 26, white
Joseph BurtonBlack23MJune 20, 1873 Sussex RapeHannah Laut, 16, white [22]
John RhodesBlack24MSeptember 21, 1877 New Castle MurderJames Temple, black [23] John P. Cochran
Samuel ChambersBlack35MMarch 22, 1878 New Castle RapeMary Catherine Smith, 32, white [24]
George CollinsBlack19M
James ReddenBlack21MAugust 25, 1882 New Castle RapeSallie Jane Purse, 14, white [25] John W. Hall
Charles RobinsonBlack33MApril 16, 1886 New Castle RapeElla F. Gardner, 21, white [26] Charles C. Stockley
Charles ReidelWhite36MAugust 10, 1888 New Castle MurderLena and Wilhelm Reidel, 37 and 7, white (wife and son) Benjamin T. Biggs
Jesse ProctorBlack34MFebruary 13, 1891 Kent Murder-RobberyStephen Lindsay, 82, black [27] Robert J. Reynolds
Fredrick YoungBlack17M
Shakespeare ReevesBlack33MMarch 6, 1891 New Castle RapeGrace Clark, 11, white [28]
James ThoroughgoodBlack22MAugust 7, 1891 Kent RapeLouisa Gertrude Huffington, 8, black [29]
Edward WrightBlack29MJanuary 1, 1897 New Castle MurderIda Crummel, 23, black (girlfriend) [30] Ebe W. Tunnell
Thomas WillisBlack23MFebruary 19, 1897 New Castle MurderCallie Willis, 1, black (daughter)
James GordyWhite29MJune 11, 1897 Sussex MurderMary Estelle Lewis Gordy, 33, white (wife) [31] [d]
John JoinerBlack25MSeptember 2, 1904 New Castle MurderJohn R. Taylor, 23, black [32] John Hunn
William ArcherBlack21MJanuary 11, 1907 New Castle MurderIda Elizabeth Spires, 28, black (girlfriend) [33] Preston Lea
Lewis JonesBlack30MJanuary 25, 1907 New Castle MurderArameda Jones, 24, black [34]
Reese RobertsBlack30MJuly 14, 1911 New Castle Murder-RobberyRobert and Ann Cloud Casey, 70 and 68, white [35] Simeon S. Pennewill
Peter KrakusWhite25MMay 14, 1915 New Castle MurderFrancis X. Tierney, 31, white (policeman) [36] [e] Charles R. Miller
William PrettymanBlack29MSeptember 28, 1917 New Castle [f] MurderZadoc B. Parker, 38, black [37] John G. Townsend Jr.
Adam HargusBlack34M
Webster PurnellBlack36M
Samuel GangusWhite24MJanuary 11, 1918 New Castle MurderCatherine Bodjeska, 20, white [38]
Ernest ThomasBlack21MNovember 26, 1920 New Castle RapeEmma Talley, 58, white [39]
Lemuel PriceBlack24MDecember 3, 1920 New Castle MurderThomas L. Zebley, 41, white (policeman) [40]
Harry ButlerBlack21MFebruary 26, 1926 Sussex RapeEleanor Steinmetz, 10, white [41] [g] Robert P. Robinson
Carl SkinnerBlack27MMay 27, 1927 Sussex Rape-BurglaryJulia A. Bennett, 85, white [42]
Louis GalvanoWhite21MMarch 28, 1930 New Castle MurderArthur C. Cline, 24, white [43] C. Douglass Buck
Theodore RossBlack24MAugust 22, 1930 New Castle RapeMary Kemp Read, 21, white [44]
John MorganWhite44MApril 12, 1935 Kent MurderDominique J. Pierre, 61, white [45] [h]
May CareyWhite52FJune 7, 1935 Sussex MurderRobert R. Hitchens, 55, white (May's brother) [46]
Howard CareyWhite28M
George ScottBlack26MNovember 20, 1936 New Castle MurderElbert Paul, 23, black [47]
Isaiah OpherBlack36MJanuary 3, 1937 New Castle Murder-RapeIsabelle Robinson, 13, black [48]
Joseph NelsonBlack36MJune 4, 1937 Sussex MurderCarrie Lethal, 51, black (common-law wife) [49] Richard McMullen
Curnel RobinsonBlack34MJanuary 14, 1941 New Castle RapeFemale, 15, white [50] [i]
Ralph ErnestWhite33MJanuary 9, 1942 New Castle RapeFemale, 6, white [51] Walter W. Bacon
Anderson ButlerBlack23MDecember 7, 1945 New Castle RapeFemale, 12, white [52]
Forrest SturdivantBlack34MMay 10, 1946 Sussex MurderGeorge Leslie Polk, 65, black [53]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also attacked Elizabeth Griffith with a razor.
  2. ↑ Also admitted to "various bloody deeds" he committed while working as a chain bearer for a coastal survey in California.
  3. ↑ Serial rapist.
  4. ↑ Also suspected of murdering his father Peter B. Gordy, his first wife, and their infant child.
  5. ↑ Fugitive from Connecticut for the murders of Rev. Joseph Zebris and Iva Gilmanaitis (54 and 36, white); his accomplice, Bernard Montvid, was hanged there for the crime in August 1915.
  6. ↑ Sentenced in Sussex County.
  7. ↑ Also attacked a black woman, Bertha Neal.
  8. ↑ Also murdered Frank Foster (57, white).
  9. ↑ Serial rapist, also pleaded guilty to raping three white women and previously attacked numerous black girls.


  1. ↑ "Death Row Executions". Delaware Department of Correction. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Executions in Delaware - 1662-1946 - DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States". deathpenaltyusa.org. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  3. ↑ "Delaware", Death Penalty Information Center
  4. ↑ Hearn, Daniel Allen (2015-07-13). Legal Executions in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia: A Comprehensive Registry, 1866-1962. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-9540-5.
  5. ↑ Delaware, executions recorded in statewide records, 1956-1977, Undated
  6. ↑ John Smith, DE, 1815 December 21, Espy Archive
  7. ↑ William Piper, DE, 1820 April 18, Espy Archive
  8. ↑ Jacob Elliott, DE, 1822 December 31, Espy Archive
  9. ↑ Elisha Sharp, DE, 1825 November 8, Espy Archive
  10. ↑ Robert Morris, DE, 1831 November 8, Espy Archive
  11. ↑ Samuel Ward, DE, 1852 September 8, Espy Archive
  12. ↑ John Bowen, DE, 1860 February 10, Espy Archive
  13. ↑ John Cannon, DE, 1869 December 14, Espy Archive
  14. ↑ Sarah Bradley, DE, 1869 December 14, Espy Archive
  15. ↑ Levi Jenkins, DE, 1869 December 14, Espy Archive
  16. ↑ John Cannon, DE, 1860 December 28, Espy Archive
  17. ↑ Andrew Armstrong, 1867 February 8, Espy Archive
  18. ↑ Joshua Jones, DE, 1870 February 4, Espy Archive
  19. ↑ Benjamin Johnson, DE, 1870, Espy Archive
  20. ↑ "Andrew Clark, DE, 1872 July 12". archives.albany.edu. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  21. ↑ "State of Delaware Genealogy and History". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  22. ↑ Joseph Burton, DE, 1873 June 20, Espy Archive
  23. ↑ John Rhodes, DE, 1877 September 21, Espy Archive
  24. ↑ George Collins, DE, 1878 March 22, Espy Archive
  25. ↑ James Redden, DE, 1882 August 25, Espy Archive
  26. ↑ Charles Robinson, DE, 1886 April 16, Espy Archive
  27. ↑ Jesse Proctor, DE, 1891 February 13, Espy Archive
  28. ↑ Shakespeare Reeves, DE, 1891 March 6, Espy Archive
  29. ↑ James Thoroughgood, DE, 1891 August 7, Espy Archive
  30. ↑ Edward Wright, DE, 1897 January 1, Espy Archive
  31. ↑ James Gordy, DE, 1897 June 11, Espy Archive
  32. ↑ John Joiner, DE, 1904 September 2, Espy Archive
  33. ↑ William Archer, DE, 1907 January 25, Espy Archive
  34. ↑ Lewis Jones, DE, 1907 January 11, Espy Archive
  35. ↑ Reese Roberts, DE, 1911 July 14, Espy Archive
  36. ↑ Peter Krakus, DE, 1915 May 14, Espy Archive
  37. ↑ Webster Purnell, DE, 1917 September 28, Espy Archive
  38. ↑ Samuel Gangus, DE, 1918 January 11, Espy Archive
  39. ↑ Ernest Thomas, 1920 November 26, Espy Archive
  40. ↑ Lemuel Price, DE, 1920 December 3, Espy Archive
  41. ↑ Harry Butler, DE, 1926 February 26, Espy Archive
  42. ↑ Carl Skinner, DE, 1927 May 27, Espy Archive
  43. ↑ Louis Galvano, DE, 1930 March 28, Espy Archive
  44. ↑ Theodore Ross, DE, 1930 August 22, Espy Archive
  45. ↑ John Morgan, DE, 1935 April 12, Espy Archive
  46. ↑ May Carey, Howard Carey, 1935 June 7, Espy Archive
  47. ↑ George Scott, DE, 1936 November 20, Espy Archive
  48. ↑ Isaiah Opher, DE, 1937 January 3, Espy Archive
  49. ↑ Joseph Nelson, DE, 1937 June 4, Espy Archive
  50. ↑ Curnel Robinson, DE, 1941 January 14, Espy Archive
  51. ↑ Ralph Ernest, DE, 1942 January 9, Espy Archive
  52. ↑ Anderson Butler, DE, 1945 December 7, Espy Archive
  53. ↑ Forrest Sturdivant, DE, 1946 May 10, Espy Archive
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