The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of West Virginia from 1861 to 1959.
Capital punishment was abolished in West Virginia in 1965. [1] From 1861 to 1959, 112 people, all male, have been executed in West Virginia, [2] 103 by hanging and 9 by electrocution. [2]
| Name | Race | Ages | Sex | Date of execution | Crime | Victim(s) | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winthrow | Black | M | January 1861 | Unspecified Felony | John Letcher | ||
| Daniel Grogan | ? | M | February 9, 1866 | Murder | Abraham Deems | Arthur I. Boreman | |
| Thomas Boice | ? | M | |||||
| Mortimer Gibboney | ? | M | June 15, 1866 | ||||
| Joseph Eisele | White | M | March 6, 1868 | Murder | Joseph Lillenthal and Rudolph Tsutor, white [a] | ||
| Labon Walker | White | M | November 28, 1879 | Murder | Patrick Nolan, white [3] | Henry M. Mathews | |
| Henry Jenkins | Black | M | November 11, 1881 | Murder-Robbery | Winkfield Saunders, black [4] | Jacob B. Jackson | |
| Felix Kampf | White | 65 | M | March 7, 1890 | Murder | William Kampf and Mary Kampf, 18 and 20, white (son and daughter) [b] | Aretas B. Fleming |
| William I. Martin | White | 32 | M | October 3, 1890 | Murder | Female, white (wife) [5] | |
| Sim Johnson | Black | 18 | M | June 19, 1891 | Rape | Alice Bailey, 16, white [6] [7] | |
| William Maier | White | 23 | M | November 17, 1892 | Murder | Marie Maier, 20, white [8] [9] | |
| Allen Harrison | White | 25 | M | November 22, 1892 | Murder | Bettie Adams, 16, white (girlfriend) [10] | |
| John Hardy | Black | M | January 19, 1894 | Murder | Thomas Drews, black [11] | William A. MacCorkle | |
| Washington Adkins | Black | M | July 20, 1894 | Murder | Isaac A. Radford, 42, white [12] [13] [c] | ||
| Andrew J. Scott | Black | M | October 4, 1895 | Murder | Elizabeth M. Scott, black (wife) [14] | ||
| Jim Nichols | Black | M | December 13, 1895 | Murder | Henry Carr, black [15] | ||
| Clark Lewis | Black | M | June 25, 1897 | Murder | Charles Gibson, white [16] | George W. Atkinson | |
| Jerry Brown | Black | 35 | M | July 25, 1897 | Rape | Arminta Jane Radford, 44, white [17] [18] [d] | |
| Albert Viars | White | M | November 12, 1897 | Murder | Charles Gibson, white [19] | ||
| John Morgan | White | 22 | M | December 16, 1897 | Murder-Robbery | Three people, white [20] [21] [22] [e] [f] | |
| Shep Caldwell | Black | M | October 10, 1899 | Murder | Female, black (wife) [23] [g] | ||
| Frank E. Broadnax | Black | 25 | M | November 9, 1899 | Murder | McFadden, 16, race unclear [23] | |
| Frank Walker | Black | M | December 15, 1899 | Murder | Thomas Saunders, race unclear [24] | ||
| George Carter | Black | M | March 21, 1902 | Murder | Virgil Whistler, black [25] | Albert B. White | |
| Lewis Young | Black | M | May 1, 1902 | Murder | Anthony Kell, black [26] | ||
| John Mooney | White | M | May 9, 1902 | Murder-Robbery | James Hervey, white [27] | ||
| Frank Friday | White | M | |||||
| Perry Christian | White | M | June 13, 1902 | Murder | William Dent, white [28] | ||
| State Henry | Black | M | June 24, 1902 | Murder | John Richardson, black [29] | ||
| Wilfred Davis | White | 21 | M | June 5, 1903 | Murder | Page Campbell Marstiller, 47, white (police chief) [30] | |
| George Williams | Black | M | September 9, 1904 | Rape | Laura Knade, white [31] | ||
| Edward Walton | Black | M | July 17, 1908 | Murder | Beulah Martin, black [h] | William M. O. Dawson | |
| Arthur Brown | Black | M | August 27, 1909 | Murder-Robbery | Robert Shannon, 18, white [32] | William E. Glasscock | |
| Thomas Wayne | Black | 45 | M | December 23, 1910 | Murder-Rape | Lottie Aliff, white [33] | |
| Frank Stevenson | Black | M | February 17, 1911 | Murder | Moses Blagman, white [34] | ||
| Jesse Cook | White | 22 | M | March 10, 1911 | Murder | Frank F. Bennett, white [35] | |
| William Furbish | Black | 28 | M | March 17, 1911 | Rape | Flora Anglin, 40, white [36] | |
| John Marshall | Black | M | April 4, 1913 | Murder | Minnie Marshall, black (wife) [37] | Henry D. Hatfield | |
| James Williams | Black | M | Lucian Scott, male, and Bettie Williams (wife), black [37] | ||||
| Henry Sterling | Black | M | June 6, 1913 | Murder | William Patterson, black | ||
| John Hix | White | M | Mollie Thompson, white | ||||
| Henry Green | Black | 28 | M | March 6, 1914 | Murder | Mary Belle Justice, black (girlfriend) [38] | |
| Silas Jones | Black | 32 | M | July 10, 1914 | Murder | Prudential jones, black (wife) [39] | |
| Will Thomas | Black | M | July 2, 1915 | Murder | Freida Thomas, black (wife) [40] | ||
| Will Stuart | Black | M | July 2, 1915 | George T. Shires, white (police chief) | |||
| Nat Jarrell | White | M | July 9, 1915 | Murder | Silas Frank Nantz, 47, white (sheriff) [41] | ||
| Charles Forrest | Black | M | September 10, 1915 | Murder | William Hyden, black | ||
| Claude Sutton | White | 24 | M | August 4, 1916 | Murder-Robbery | John J. Kennedy, white [42] | |
| James Lay | Black | M | September 1, 1916 | Murder-Robbery | William Bowman, white | ||
| Hugh Ferguson | Black | 23 | M | August 6, 1919 | Rape | Female, white [43] [44] | John J. Cornwell |
| Hugh Bragg | White | 21 | M | April 30, 1920 | Murder | John Dennis Morton, 32, white (sheriff) [45] | |
| Jacob Lutz | White | M | July 22, 1921 | Murder | J.E.B. Phillips, 64, white (police chief) | Ephraim F. Morgan | |
| Hobart Grimm | White | M | August 5, 1921 | Murder | Stephen Galchek, white | ||
| Henry Harbor | Black | 29 | M | January 7, 1922 | Murder | Female, black (wife) [46] | |
| Leroy Williams | Black | M | March 3, 1922 | Rape | Mrs. Stephens, white | ||
| Monroe S. Payton | Black | M | May 4, 1922 | Rape | Hazel Johnson, 9, white | ||
| George Banhage | White | M | November 2, 1923 | Murder | |||
| Philip Connizzaro | White | 26 | M | January 4, 1924 | Murder | Frank Naples, white [47] [i] | |
| Richard Ferri | White | 26 | M | ||||
| Nick Salamante | White | 33 | M | ||||
| Samuel Muratore | White | M | February 15, 1924 | Murder | James Papara, white [j] | ||
| Tiny McCoy | White | 23 | M | September 12, 1924 | Murder | Hallie Virgnia McCoy, white (wife) [48] [49] [k] | |
| Robert Ford | Black | 24 | M | January 29, 1926 | Murder | Edward Woody, 62, black [50] | Howard Mason Gore |
| Harry Sawyer | Black | 24 | M | April 19, 1926 | Rape | Female, white [51] | |
| Philip Euman | Black | 19 | M | August 20, 1926 | Murder-Robbery | Charles Shaw, 20, white [52] | |
| Henry Jackson | Black | 44 | M | September 10, 1926 | Murder | Earl Langfitt, 25, white (guard) [53] | |
| Pierce Jefferies | Black | 21 | M | February 18, 1927 | Rape | Mrs. Vance, white [54] | |
| Wesley Homer Swain | White | 42 | M | February 3, 1928 | Rape | Ellere Thornton, 5, white [55] | |
| Andrew Brady | Black | 28 | M | March 30, 1928 | Rape | Odessa Oates, 16, white | |
| Lawrence Charles Fike | White | 31 | M | August 10, 1928 | Murder-Robbery | Elroy Leonard, 54, white | |
| Henry Grogan | Black | 20 | M | February 8, 1929 | Rape | Earl Akers, white [56] [l] | |
| Theodore Carr | White | 55 | M | June 14, 1929 | Murder | Male (brother-in-law) and female (wife), white | William G. Conley |
| Willard F. Morrison | White | 24 | M | September 13, 1929 | Murder | Frank Bowen, 41, white [57] | |
| Walter E. Wilmot | White | 20 | M | ||||
| Walter E. Crabtree | White | 35 | M | May 9, 1930 | Murder | H. Carter Inskeep, 59, white (Justice of the Peace) [58] [m] | |
| Roosevelt Darnell | White | 25 | M | November 14, 1930 | Murder | Clarence Holbrook, white [59] | |
| William C. Adams | White | 40 | M | February 20, 1931 | Murder | Cynthia McGuire (aunt-in-law), white [n] | |
| Emory Stephens | White | 24 | M | Murder-Robbery | Leonard Curtis Ooten Sr., 25, white | ||
| Hiram Francis Hyer | White | 54 | M | June 19, 1931 | Murder | Evie O'Connor Hyer, 58, white (wife) | |
| Harry Powers | White | 39 | M | March 18, 1932 | Murder-Robbery | Dorothy Ann Pressler Lemke, 49, white [o] | |
| James Blount | Black | M | May 12, 1932 | Murder | Jesse Meeks, black | ||
| Omer G. Brill | White | 21 | M | August 10, 1933 | Murder-Robbery | Love Burch and Esther Burch, 55 and 17, white [60] | Herman G. Kump |
| Leo Fraser | White | 30 | M | November 24, 1933 | Murder | Roy L. Shamblin, 49, white (sheriff) [61] [p] | |
| Joseph M. Corey | Arab | 43 | M | December 8, 1933 | Murder | Katherine Ghiz [q] | |
| Greely Blankenship | White | 29 | M | January 7, 1935 | Murder | Male, white | |
| Robert Branch | Black | 39 | M | July 19, 1935 | Murder | Brady Hill, 28 [62] | |
| Frank Pramera | White | 23 | M | April 13, 1937 | Murder | Louis Thames, white [63] | Homer A. Holt |
| William V. Beckner | White | 30 | M | June 25, 1937 | Murder-Robbery | Josiah Page, 62, white | |
| Mervin Brown | Black | 33 | M | September 10, 1937 | Murder-Robbery | James Garland, 85, black [64] | |
| William B. Read | White | 25 | M | November 5, 1937 | Murder-Robbery | William Earle Dollman, 34, white [65] | |
| Raymond Styers | White | 29 | M | March 13, 1938 | Murder-Robbery | Anna Bris, 54, white | |
| John Travis | White | 25 | M | March 21, 1938 | Kidnapping [r] | Dr. James I. Seder, 78, white [66] | |
| Arnett A. Booth | White | 47 | M | ||||
| Arvil P. Adkins | White | 25 | M | ||||
| Byzantine Hartman | White | 29 | M | June 28, 1940 | Murder | Wilbur H. Grubb, 46, white (patrolman) [67] | Matthew M. Neely |
| Paul Tross | Black | 41 | M | December 6, 1940 | Rape | Mary Lynn Stebbins, 23, white [68] | |
| James Chambers | Black | 33/34 | M | March 30, 1945 | Murder-Rape | Lucy Ward, 73, white [69] [s] | Clarence W. Meadows |
| William Turner | White | 27 | M | December 28, 1945 | Murder | Darla Jean Pratt, 15, white [70] | |
| Richard L. Collins | White | 22 | M | January 11, 1946 | Murder | Denver Hill, white [71] | |
| William Gordon | White | 20 | M | January 3, 1947 | Murder-Robbery | Josephine Evelyn Hamblin Carr, 39, white [72] | |
| Paul Burton | White | 33 | M | January 2, 1948 | Murder | Willard Simpson, 23, white [73] | |
| Mark McCauley | White | 36 | M | January 30, 1948 | Murder | Joseph Pierce Horne, and Orpha Gay Hovatter, 44 and 51, white (sheriffs) | |
| Matthew Perison | Black | 31 | M | September 23, 1948 | Murder | Jack Martin, 70, black (father-in-law) [t] | |
| Lemuel Steed | Black | 28 | M | January 15, 1949 | Murder-Robbery | Loren R. McClung, 50, white [74] | |
| Bud Peterson | Black | 53 | M | February 25, 1949 | Murder | Bessie Wright, 40, black [75] | Okey Patteson |
On February 10, 1949, the West Virginia legislature approves the use of electrocution at the state penitentiary as the state's new default method of execution. The legislation was approved in March 1949 and signed by Governor Okey Patteson later that month. [76] This made West Virginia the last state to adopt the electric chair as an execution method. [77]
| Name | Race | Ages | Sex | Date of execution | Crime | Victim(s) | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Burdette | White | 27 | M | March 26, 1951 | Murder | Edward C. O'Brien, 31, white [78] | Okey Patteson |
| Fred Painter | White | 33 | M | ||||
| James Hewlett Jr. | White | 22 | M | April 10, 1951 | Murder-Robbery | Julian Edward Buie, 40, white [79] | |
| Oshel Gardner | White | 23 | M | April 17, 1953 | Murder-Robbery | Roy C. Jackson, 54, white [80] | William C. Marland |
| Thomas L. Ingram | Black | 31 | M | March 27, 1954 | Murder | Zenobia Irene Bigelow and Melba Lois Bigelow, 30 and 7, black [81] | |
| Robert L. Hopkins | White | 28 | M | September 7, 1956 | Murder-Robbery | Thomas Lanty Ervine, 24, white [82] | |
| Eugene H. Linger | White | 30 | M | June 5, 1958 | Murder-Robbery | William H. White, 64, white [83] | Cecil H. Underwood |
| Larry P. Fudge | White | 26 | M | July 1, 1958 | Murder-Rape | Inez Lea Robertson Booth, 51, white [84] | |
| Elmer Bruner | White | 41 | M | April 3, 1959 | Murder-Robbery | Ruby Hood Thomas Miller, 58, white [85] |