List of people executed in Rhode Island

Last updated February 05, 2026

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state and former colony of Rhode Island from 1670 to 1845.

Capital punishment was first abolished in Rhode Island in 1852, reinstated in 1873 and was finally abolished in 1984.^[1] 53 people, all of them men, were ever executed in Rhode Island, 51 by hanging, 1 by hanging, drawing and quartering and 1 by hanging and gibbeting.^[2] Only 8 of the executions were after Rhode Island’s statehood.

List of people executed in Rhode Island

British Colony

Colonial Era: 45 executions; 43 hanged, 1 hanged, drawn and quartered, 1 hanged and gibbeted
Name	Race	Date of Execution	Method	Crime(s)
Thomas Flounders^[3]	White	November 2, 1670	Hanging	Murder ^[4]
Thomas Cornell Jr.	White	May 23, 1673		Matricide ^[3]
Punnean	Native American	May 23, 1673		Rape and Murder^[3]
Joshua Tefft	White	January 18, 1676	Hanging, drawing and quartering ^[5]	Unlawfully fighting ^[5]
Peter Pylatt	Black	November 10, 1679	Hanging	Assault and Rape^[3]
Job	Native American	September 12, 1712	Hanging and Gibbeting ^[6]	Kidnapping and Murder^[6]
Jeremiah Meacham	White	May 12, 1715	Hanging	Murder
William Dyer		1718
Reuben Hull		June 23, 1718
William Blades		July 19, 1723		Piracy
Charles Harris
Thomas Hugget
Thomas Linnicar
Peter Cues
Daniel Hyde
William Jones
Stephen Mundon
Edward Eaton
Abraham Lacy
John Brown
Edward Lawson
James Sprinkley
John Tomkins
Joseph Sound
Francis Laughton
Charles Church
John Fitzgerald
William Stutfield
Owen Rice
William Rhad
Thomas Hazel
John Bright
Joseph Libby
Thomas Powest
John Waters
Francis Baudoine		November 3, 1738
Thomas Davis
Peter LeGrand
Peter Jesseau
Thomas Carter		May 10, 1751		Robbery and Murder
Samuel Parks		August 21, 1760		Piracy
Benjamin Hawkins		August 21, 1760		Piracy
Fortune Price	Black	May 14, 1762		Arson
John Sherman	White	November 16, 1764		Burglary
Daniel Wilson	White	April 29, 1774		Rape^[3]

State

Statehood: 8 executions; all hanged
Name	Race	Date of Execution	Method	Crime(s)
John Hart	White	May 17, 1777	Hanging	Treason
Thomas Mount		May 27, 1791		Burglary
David Comstock		May 27, 1791		Murder
Hopkins Hudson	?	October 26, 1798
Amasa Walmsley	Native American	June 1, 1832
Amos Miner	White	December 27, 1833
Charles Brown	Black	December 27, 1833		Highway robbery
John Gordon	White	February 14, 1845		Murder

References

↑ https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/rhode-island Death Penalty Information Center
↑ "Index by State - RHODE ISLAND" . Retrieved 5 March 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 "List of Executions in Rhode Island, 1670 to 1845". Small State Big History. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
↑ "Thomas Flounders". Espy Project Execution Records. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
1 2 "Joshua Tefft". Espy Project Execution Records. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
1 2 "Job". Espy Project Execution Records. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

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[1] ttps://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/rhode-island Death Penalty Information Center

[2] "Index by State - RHODE ISLAND" . Retrieved 5 March 2024.

[RI_Executions_1670-1845-3] 1 2 3 4 5 "List of Executions in Rhode Island, 1670 to 1845". Small State Big History. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

[4] "Thomas Flounders". Espy Project Execution Records. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

[Joshua_Tefft-5] 1 2 "Joshua Tefft". Espy Project Execution Records. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

[Job-6] 1 2 "Job". Espy Project Execution Records. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

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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 (pre-1972) 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	1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 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 2026 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 Rhode Island

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