List of people executed in Louisiana

Last updated November 04, 2024

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Louisiana since capital punishment was resumed in the United States in 1976.

A total of 28 people convicted of murder have been executed by the state of Louisiana since 1976. Of the 28 people executed, 20 were executed via electrocution and 8 via lethal injection. The most recent Louisiana inmate to be put to death, Gerald Bordelon, waived his appeals and asked the state to carry out his sentence.^[1]

List of people executed in Louisiana since 1976

No.	Name	Race	Age	Sex	Date of execution	Parish	Method	Victim(s)	Governor
1	Robert Wayne Williams	Black	31	M	December 14, 1983	East Baton Rouge	Electrocution ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Willie Kelly	Dave Treen
2	Johnny Davis Taylor Jr.	Black	30	M	February 29, 1984	Jefferson		David Vogler	Dave Treen
3	Elmo Patrick Sonnier	White	34	M	April 5, 1984	Iberia		Loretta Bourque and David LeBlanc	Edwin Edwards
4	Timothy George Baldwin	White	46	M	September 10, 1984	Ouachita		Mary Lee Peters
5	Earnest Knighton Jr.	Black	38	M	October 30, 1984	Bossier		Ralph Shell
6	Robert Lee Willie	White	26	M	December 28, 1984	St. Tammany		Faith Hathaway
7	David Dene Martin	White	32	M	January 4, 1985	Terrebonne		4 murder victims^{[lower-alpha 2]}
8	Benjamin A. Berry	White	31	M	June 7, 1987	Jefferson		Jefferson Parish Deputy Sheriff Robert Cochran^[2]
9	Alvin Rudolph Moore Jr.	Black	27	M	June 9, 1987	Bossier		Jo Ann Wilson
10	Jimmy L. Glass	White	25	M	June 12, 1987	Webster		Newt Brown and Erlene Brown
11	Jimmy C. Wingo	White	35	M	June 16, 1987	Webster		Newt Brown and Erlene Brown
12	Willie Lawrence Celestine	Black	30	M	July 20, 1987	Lafayette		Marcelaine Richard
13	Willie Watson	Black	31	M	July 24, 1987	St. Charles		Kathy Newman
14	John E. Brogdon	White	25	M	July 30, 1987	St. Charles		Barbara Jo Brown
15	Sterling John Rault Jr.	White	36	M	August 24, 1987^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Orleans		Jane Ellen Francioni
16	Wayne Robert Felde	White	38	M	March 15, 1988^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Caddo		Shreveport Police Officer Glen Tompkins^[3]	Buddy Roemer
17	Leslie Lowenfield	Black	34	M	April 13, 1988	Jefferson		5 murder victims^{[lower-alpha 5]}
18	Edward R. Byrne Jr.^{[lower-alpha 6]}	White	28	M	June 14, 1988	Bossier		Roberta June Johnson
19	Dalton Prejean	Black	30	M	May 18, 1990	Lafayette		Louisiana State Police Trooper Donald Cleveland
20	Andrew Lee Jones	Black	35	M	July 22, 1991	East Baton Rouge		Tumekica Jackson
21	Robert Wayne Sawyer	White	41	M	March 5, 1993	Jefferson	Lethal injection	Frances Arwood	Edwin Edwards
22	Thomas Lee Ward	Black	59	M	May 16, 1995	Orleans		Wilbert John Spencer	Edwin Edwards
23	Antonio G. James	Black	42	M	March 1, 1996			Henry Silver	Mike Foster
24	John Ashley Brown Jr.	White	35	M	April 24, 1997			Omer Laughlin
25	Dobie Gillis Williams	Black	38	M	January 8, 1999	Sabine ^{[lower-alpha 7]}		Sonja Knippers
26	Feltus Taylor Jr.	Black	38	M	June 6, 2000	East Baton Rouge		Donna Ponsano
27	Leslie Dale Martin	White	35	M	May 10, 2002	Calcasieu		Christina Burgin
28	Gerald James Bordelon	White	47	M	January 7, 2010	Livingston		Courtney LeBlanc	Bobby Jindal

Demographics

Race
White	15	54%
Black	13	46%
Age
20–29	5	18%
30–39	18	64%
40–49	4	18%
50–59	1	4%
Sex
Male	28	100%
Date of execution
1976–1979	0	0%
1980–1989	18	64%
1990–1999	7	25%
2000–2009	2	7%
2010–2019	1	4%
2020–2029	0	0%
Method
Electrocution	20	71%
Lethal injection	8	29%
Governor (Party)
Edwin Edwards (D)	15	54%
Dave Treen (R)	2	7%
Buddy Roemer (D)	5	18%
Mike Foster (R)	5	18%
Kathleen Blanco (D)	0	0%
Bobby Jindal (R)	1	4%
John Bel Edwards (D)	0	0%
Jeff Landry (R)	0	0%
Total	28	100%

Notes

↑ Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, Louisiana is one of only two states to have executed more people via electrocution than lethal injection (Nebraska, which required electrocution until 2009, is the other).
↑ The 4 victims were: Bobby Todd, Terry Hebert, Sandra Brake, and Anne Tierney.
↑ Louisiana executed a total of 8 inmates in 1987, the highest of all states for that calendar year and accounting for nearly a third of all executions in 1987.
↑ Felde was executed 12 hours after Buddy Roemer's inauguration as Louisiana governor. Roemer and his predecessor, Edwin Edwards, each rejected appeals for clemency.
↑ The 5 victims were: Sheila Thomas, Shantel Osborne, Carol Osborne, Owen Griffin, and Myrtle Griffin.
↑ Edward R. Byrne Jr. was the 100th person to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
↑ Was tried and convicted in Grant Parish.

Related Research Articles

The electric chair is a specialized device used for capital punishment through electrocution. The condemned is strapped to a custom wooden chair and electrocuted via electrodes attached to the head and leg. Alfred P. Southwick, a Buffalo, New York dentist, conceived this execution method in 1881. It was developed over the next decade as a more humane alternative to conventional executions, particularly hanging. First used in 1890, the electric chair became symbolic of this execution method.

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty in 27 states, throughout the country at the federal level, 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, 19 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 8, as well as the federal government and military, subject to moratoriums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Louisiana</span>

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

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Ohio, although all executions have been suspended indefinitely by Governor Mike DeWine until a replacement for lethal injection is chosen by the Ohio General Assembly. The last execution in the state was in July 2018, when Robert J. Van Hook was executed via lethal injection for murder.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of people executed in Texas</span>

The list of people executed by the U.S. state of Texas, with the exception of 1819–1849, is divided into periods of 10 years.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Mississippi</span>

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

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia reintroduced the death penalty in 1973 after Furman v. Georgia ruled all states' death penalty statutes unconstitutional. The first execution to take place afterwards occurred in 1983.

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

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References

↑ "Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
↑ Coates, Guy. "Benjamin Berry Dies In Electric Chair". Associated Press.
↑ McGill, Kevin. "Felde Executed In Louisiana With AM-Darden Bjt". Associated Press.

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[2] Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, Louisiana is one of only two states to have executed more people via electrocution than lethal injection (Nebraska, which required electrocution until 2009, is the other).

[3] The 4 victims were: Bobby Todd, Terry Hebert, Sandra Brake, and Anne Tierney.

[5] Louisiana executed a total of 8 inmates in 1987, the highest of all states for that calendar year and accounting for nearly a third of all executions in 1987.

[6] Felde was executed 12 hours after Buddy Roemer's inauguration as Louisiana governor. Roemer and his predecessor, Edwin Edwards, each rejected appeals for clemency.

[8] The 5 victims were: Sheila Thomas, Shantel Osborne, Carol Osborne, Owen Griffin, and Myrtle Griffin.

[9] Edward R. Byrne Jr. was the 100th person to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

[10] Was tried and convicted in Grant Parish.

[1] "Execution Database | Death Penalty Information Center". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved January 11, 2020.

[4] Coates, Guy. "Benjamin Berry Dies In Electric Chair". Associated Press.

[7] McGill, Kevin. "Felde Executed In Louisiana With AM-Darden Bjt". Associated Press.

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List of people executed in Louisiana

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