List of people executed in Maine

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Maine , or within present-day Maine prior to statehood. ^[1] Capital punishment was sparsely used in Maine. It was abolished in 1876, reinstated in 1883, then abolished again in 1887. ^[2] The only method of execution used in Maine was hanging.

Name	Race	Age	Sex	Date of execution	County	Crime	Victim(s)	Governor
Mrs. Cornish	White		F	1644		Murder	Mr. Cornish, white (husband) [3]	N/A (Province of Massachusetts Bay)
Joseph Quasson	Native		M	June 29, 1726		Murder	Jonathan Boler, Native [4]
Patience Sampson	Native	23	F	July 31, 1735	York	Murder	Benjamin Trott, 8, white [5]
Solomon Goodwin	White		M	November 12, 1772	Cumberland	Murder	Male, race unknown [6]
James McCormic	White		M	1773	Cumberland	Murder	Reuben Bishop, race unknown [6]
Jeremiah Baum	White		M	1780	Knox	Treason	N/A [6] [a]	N/A (District of Maine)
Thomas Bird	White		M	June 25, 1790	Cumberland (Federal) [7]	Murder	Capt. John Connor, white [7]
Edmund Fortis	Black		M	September 25, 1794	Lincoln	Murder-Rape	Pamela Tilton, 14, white [8]
Joseph Drew	White	24	M	July 21, 1808	Cumberland	Murder	Ebenezer Parker, white (deputy sheriff) [9]
Ebenezer Ball	White		M	October 31, 1811	Hancock	Murder	John Tileston Downes, white [10]
Seth Elliott	White		M	February 3, 1825	Knox	Murder	John Wilson Elliott, 3, white (son) [11]	Parris
Joseph Sager	White		M	January 2, 1835 [b]	Kennebec	Murder	Female, white (wife) [12]	Smith
Abram Cox	Black		M	August 27, 1860	Androscoggin (Federal)	Murder	Four people, races unknown [13] [c]	Morrill
Peter Williams	White		M
Francis Spencer	White		M	June 24, 1864 [d]	Knox	Murder	Mr. Tinker, white (warden) [14]	Cony
Clifton Harris	Black	20	M	March 12, 1869	Androscoggin	Murder-Rape-Robbery	Mrs. Justin Kingsley and Polly Caswell, white [15]	Chamberlain
Louis Wagner	White		M	June 25, 1875	York	Murder-Rape-Robbery	Anetha and Karen Christiansen, white [16]	Dingley
John Gordon	White		M		Waldo	Murder	Three people, white [17] [e]
Raffaele Capone	White	27	M	April 17, 1885	Penobscot	Murder-Robbery	Pasquale Coscia, white [18]	Robie
Carmine Santore	White	44	M
Daniel Wilkinson	White	38	M	November 20, 1885	Sagadahoc	Murder	William Lawrence, white (policeman) [19]

See also

• Capital punishment in Maine

Notes

1. Accused of "conducting a marauding British party". Baum was of "feeble intellect" and many supporters of the revolution sought a pardon for "manifestly inoffensive" Baum, regretting the execution.
2. Last public execution in Maine.
3. Capt. Daniel Humphrey, two mates, and a seaman.
4. First execution at Maine State Prison.
5. His 24-year-old brother Almon, Almon's wife Emma, and their two-year-old daughter.

References

1. "Executions in Maine - 1644-1885 - DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States". deathpenaltyusa.org. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
2. Thompson, Bruce E. R. (June 25, 2009). Capital Punishment. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. ISBN   978-0-7377-4633-4.
3. Jones, Ann (October 1, 2009). Women Who Kill. The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN   978-1-55861-652-3.
4. Hearn, Daniel Allen (August 13, 2015). Legal Executions in New England: A Comprehensive Reference, 1623-1960. McFarland. ISBN   978-1-4766-0853-2.
5. "Summary of the execution of Patience Sampson". July 31, 1735.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. Society, Maine Historical (1890). Collections of the Maine Historical Society. The Society.
7. Genesio, Jerry (2006). "The Trial and Execution of Thomas Bird in Portland, Maine, 1790: The First Execution under the United States Constitution". Maine History. 42 (4): 199–214. ISSN   1090-5413.
8. "Edmund Fortis, d. 1794 The Last Words and Dying Speech of Edmund Fortis, a Negro Man, Who Appeared to Be between Thirty and Forty Years of Age, but Very Ignorant. He Was Executed at Dresden, on Kennebeck River, on Thursday the Twenty-Fifth Day of September, 1794, for a Rape and Murder, Committed on the Body of Pamela Tilton, a Young Girl of about Fourteen Years of Age, Daughter of Mr. Tilton of Vassalborough, in the County of Lincoln". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
9. "Summary of the execution of Joseph Drew". July 21, 1808.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. [Lines] made on Ebenezer Ball, who was executed at Castine, October 31st, 1811, for the murder of Mr. John Tileston Downes. [Two poems. One written the day before his execution, and the other written the day he was executed.]. 1811.
11. "Summary of the execution of Seth Elliott". February 3, 1825.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
12. "Summary of the execution of Joseph Sager". January 2, 1835.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
13. "Summary of the execution of Abram Cox, Peter Williams". August 27, 1860.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
14. "Summary of the execution of Francis Spencer". June 24, 1864.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
15. "Summary of the execution of Clifton Harris". March 12, 1869.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
16. "Summary of the execution of Louis Wagner". June 25, 1875.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
17. "Summary of the execution of John Gordon". June 25, 1875.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
18. "Summary of the execution of Raffaele Capone, Carmine Santore". April 17, 1885.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
19. "Summary of the execution of Daniel Wilkinson". November 20, 1885.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)