List of people executed in Louisiana

Last updated May 10, 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	Method	Parish	Victim(s)	Governor
1	Robert Wayne Williams	Black	31	M	December 14, 1983	Electrocution ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	East Baton Rouge	Willie Kelly	David C. Treen
2	Johnny Davis Taylor Jr.	Black	30	M	February 29, 1984		Jefferson	David Vogler	David C. 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	Lethal injection	Jefferson	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%
Female	1	0%
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	31	71%
Lethal injection	8	29%
Governor (Party)
David C. Treen (R)	2	7%
Edwin Edwards (D)	15	54%
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.

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References

↑ "Searchable Execution Database". 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] "Searchable Execution Database". 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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