List of people executed in Mississippi (pre-1972)

Last updated November 26, 2025

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

List of people executed in Mississippi before 1972

Name	Race	Age	Sex	Date of execution	Method	Crime	Victim(s)	Governor	Ref.
Gerald Albert Gallego	White	26	M	March 3, 1955	Gas chamber	Murder	Ernest F. Beaugez, 34, white (policeman)^[a]	Hugh L. White	^[1]
Allen Donaldson	Black	28	M	March 4, 1955		Robbery^[b]	Estelle Foster, 31, white		^[2]
August Charles LaFontaine	White	24	M	April 28, 1955		Murder	Ralph DeLoach, white (inmate)		^[3]
John E. Wiggins	White	59	M	June 20, 1955		Murder	Ruth Mack, 36, white (stepdaughter and ex-girlfriend)		^[4]
Mack C. Lewis	Black	21	M	June 23, 1955		Murder-Robbery	Kenneth L. Mason, white		^[5]
Walter Johnson	Black	18	M	August 19, 1955		Rape	Female, 20, white		^[6]
Murry Garfield Gilmore	White	32	M	December 9, 1955		Murder-Robbery	Samuel Coleman Addington, 74, white^[c]		^[7]
Mose Robinson	Black	21	M	December 18, 1955		Rape	Female, white		^[8]
Robert Buchanan	Black	35	M	January 3, 1956		Rape-Robbery	Female, 30, white		^[9]
Edgar Keeler	Black	38	M	January 27, 1956		Murder-Robbery	Louis Hutchins	James P. Coleman	^[10]
O.C. McNair	Black	24	M	February 17, 1956		Murder	William Levi Mullican, 64, white (constable)		^[11]
James Russell	Black	32	M	April 5, 1956		Murder	Alberta Carroll Russell, black (wife)		^[12]
Dewey Townsel	Black	26	M	June 22, 1956		Murder	Sizzie Townsel, black (wife)		^[13]
Willie D. Jones	Black	31	M	July 13, 1956		Murder-Robbery	George Fritz, 76, white		^[14]
Mack Drake	Black	35	M	November 7, 1956		Rape-Robbery	G. D. Fulmer, elderly, white		^[15]
Henry Jackson	Black	21	M	November 8, 1956		Murder	Ollie Mae Jackson, 19, black (wife)		^[16]
Minor M. Sorber	White	39	M	February 8, 1957		Murder	Edgar McGraw, white (inmate)^[d]		^[17]
Joe Louis Thompson	Black	21	M	November 14, 1957		Murder-Robbery	J.Z. Jones, 51, white		^[18]
William Alvin Wetzel	White	32	M	January 17, 1958		Murder	Edgar McGraw, 24, white (inmate)		^[19]
Jimmy C. Cameron	Black	23	M	May 28, 1958		Rape	Euna Mae Johnson, 21, white^[e]		^[20]^[21]
Allen Dean Jr.	Black	23	M	December 19, 1958		Murder-Rape	Shirley Ann Hayes, 18 months, black		^[22]
Nathaniel Young	Black	42	M	November 10, 1960		Rape	Female, 7, black	Ross Barnett	^[23]
William Stokes	Black	27	M	April 21, 1961		Murder	Eula Clark, 45, white		^[24]
Robert Lee Goldsby	Black	35	M	May 31, 1961		Murder	Moselle McCorkle Nelms, 30, white		^[25]
J.W. Simmons	Black	27	M	July 14, 1961		Murder-Robbery	Hugh O'Reilly, 68, white		^[26]
Howard Cook	Black	33	M	December 19, 1961		Rape	Mary Evelyn Ledbetter, 24, white		^[27]
Ellie Lee	Black	31	M	December 20, 1961		Rape	Mary Evelyn Ledbetter, 24, white		^[28]
Willie Wilson	Black	22	M	May 11, 1962		Rape-Robbery	Esco Broadus, white		^[29]
Kenneth M. Slyter	White	28	M	March 29, 1963		Murder-Rape	Sandra Holderfield, 15, white		^[30]
Willie J. Anderson	Black	22	M	June 14, 1963		Murder-Robbery	Harry Billings, 51, white		^[31]
Tim Jackson	Black	22	M	May 1, 1964		Murder-Rape	JoAnn Jackson, 8, black^[f]	Paul B. Johnson Jr.	^[32]

Demographics

Race
White	7	23%
Black	24	77%
Age
17-19	1	3%
20-29	17	55%
30–39	11	35%
40–49	1	3%
50–59	1	3%
Gender
Male	31	100%
Female	0	0%
Date of execution
1950–1959	21	68%
1960–1969	10	32%
1970–1972	0	0%
Method
Gas chamber	31	100%
Governor (Party)
Hugh L. White (D)	9	29%
James P. Coleman (R)	12	39%
Ross Barnett (R)	9	29%
Paul B. Johnson Jr. (R)	1	3%

Notes

↑ While on death row, Gallego briefly escaped from custody in September 1954, murdering a jailer, 52-year-old J.C. Landrum, in the process. He also confessed to murdering a man in California.
↑ Also attempted to murder victim smashing her skull and face with a hammer. The victim was in critical condition for several days.
↑ Also murdered Addington's wife, 76-year-old Demie Addington.
↑ Also confessed to committing a murder-for-hire on behalf of the Mafia in Ohio.
↑ Serial rapist, also raped two other white women, C.T. Travis and Polly Hales.
↑ Also murdered JoAnn's sister, 6-year-old Jacqueline Jackson.

References

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[1] While on death row, Gallego briefly escaped from custody in September 1954, murdering a jailer, 52-year-old J.C. Landrum, in the process. He also confessed to murdering a man in California.

[3] Also attempted to murder victim smashing her skull and face with a hammer. The victim was in critical condition for several days.

[9] Also murdered Addington's wife, 76-year-old Demie Addington.

[20] Also confessed to committing a murder-for-hire on behalf of the Mafia in Ohio.

[24] Serial rapist, also raped two other white women, C.T. Travis and Polly Hales.

[37] Also murdered JoAnn's sister, 6-year-old Jacqueline Jackson.

[2] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[4] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[5] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[6] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[7] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[8] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[10] "Murray Gilmore, MS, 1955 December 9". archives.albany.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-25.

[11] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[12] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[13] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[14] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[15] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[16] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[17] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[18] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[19] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[21] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[22] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[23] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[25] "J. Cameron, MS, 1958 May 28". archives.albany.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-25.

[26] "Cameron v. State". Justia Law. 1948-04-28. Retrieved 2025-10-25.

[27] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[28] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[29] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[30] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[31] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[32] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[33] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[34] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[35] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[36] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

[38] "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".

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v t e Capital punishment in the United States
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People executed by state	Federal government Military Alabama (pre-1972) Arizona (pre-1972) Arkansas (pre-1972) California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida (pre-1972) Georgia (pre-1972) Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky (pre-1972) Louisiana (pre-1972) Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi (pre-1972) Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina (pre-1972) North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma (pre-1972) Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina (pre-1972) South Dakota Tennessee Texas 2020–present Utah Vermont Virginia (pre-1972) Washington (pre-1972) West Virginia Wyoming Washington, D.C.
People executed by year	1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965–1972 1976–1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Scheduled executions
Issues and ethics	Botched executions Death-qualified jury Debate Dual sovereignty doctrine Execution drug shortage Exonerations Juveniles Last meal Participation of medical professionals Race and capital punishment White defendants executed for killing a black victim Wrongful executions
Other	Death row inmates Death row inmates who have exhausted their appeals Death Penalty Information Center Most recent executions by state National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment Women executed since 1976 Women on death row

List of people executed in Mississippi (pre-1972)

Contents

List of people executed in Mississippi before 1972

Demographics

See also

Notes

References