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 have been executed in West Virginia, [2] 102 by hanging, 9 by electrocution and 1 by hanging in chains. [2]
Name | Race | Sex | Date of execution | Method | Crime(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winthrow | Black | ? | January 1861 | Hanging | Unspecified Felony |
Daniel Grogan | ? | M | February 9, 1866 | Hanging | Murder |
Thomas Boice | ? | M | February 9, 1866 | Hanging | Murder |
Mortimer Gibboney | ? | M | June 15, 1866 | Hanging | Murder |
Joseph Eisele | White | M | March 6, 1868 | Hanging | Murder |
Labon Walker | White | M | November 28, 1879 | Hanging | Murder |
Henry Jenkins | Black | M | November 11, 1881 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Felix Kampf | White | M | March 7, 1890 | Hanging | Murder |
William Martin | ? | M | October 3, 1890 | Hanging | Murder |
Sim Johnson | Black | M | June 19, 1891 | Hanging | Rape |
William Maier | White | M | November 17, 1892 | Hanging | Murder |
Allen Harrison | White | M | November 22, 1892 | Hanging | Murder |
John Hardy | ? | M | January 19, 1894 | Hanging | Murder |
Washington Adkins | Black | M | July 20, 1894 | Hanging | Murder |
Anderw Scott | Black | M | October 4, 1895 | Hanging | Murder |
Jim Nichols | Black | M | December 13, 1895 | Hanging | Murder |
Clark Lewis | Black | M | June 25, 1897 | Hanging | Murder |
Jerry Brown | Black | M | July 25, 1897 | Hanging | Rape |
Albert Viars | White | M | November 12, 1897 | Hanging | Murder |
John Morgan | White | M | December 16, 1897 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Shep Caldwell | Black | M | October 10, 1899 | Hanging | Murder |
Frank Broadsnax | Black | M | November 9, 1899 | Hanging | Murder |
Frank Walker | Black | M | December 15, 1899 | Hanging | Murder |
George Carter | Black | M | March 21, 1902 | Hanging | Murder |
Lewis Young | Black | M | May 1, 1902 | Hanging | Murder |
John Mooney | White | M | May 9, 1902 | Hanging | Murder |
Frank Friday | White | M | May 9, 1902 | Hanging | Murder |
Perry Christian | White | M | June 13, 1902 | Hanging | Murder |
State Henry | Black | M | June 24, 1902 | Hanging | Murder |
Wilfred Davis | White | M | June 5, 1903 | Hanging | Murder |
George Williams | Black | M | September 9, 1904 | Hanging | Rape |
Edward Walton | Black | M | July 17, 1908 | Hanging | Murder |
Arthur Brown | Black | M | August 27, 1909 | Hanging | Murder |
Thomas Wayne | Black | M | December 23, 1910 | Hanging | Rape and Murder |
Frank Stevenson | Black | M | February 17, 1911 | Hanging | Murder |
Jesse Cook | White | M | March 10, 1911 | Hanging | Murder |
William Furbish | Black | M | March 17, 1911 | Hanging | Rape |
John Marshall | Black | M | April 4, 1913 | Hanging in chains | Murder |
James Williams | Black | M | April 4, 1913 | Hanging | Murder |
Henry Sterling | Black | M | June 6, 1913 | Hanging | Murder |
John Bix | White | M | June 6, 1913 | Hanging | Murder |
Henry Green | Black | M | March 6, 1914 | Hanging | Murder |
Silas Jones | Black | M | July 10, 1914 | Hanging | Murder |
Will Thomas | Black | M | July 2, 1915 | Hanging | Murder |
Will Stuart | Black | M | July 2, 1915 | Hanging | Murder |
Nat Jarrell | White | M | July 9, 1915 | Hanging | Murder |
Charles Forest | Black | M | September 10, 1915 | Hanging | Murder |
Claude Sutton | White | M | August 4, 1916 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
James Lay | Black | M | September 1, 1916 | Hanging | Murder |
Hugh Ferguson | Black | M | August 6, 1919 | Hanging | Murder |
Hugh Bragg | White | M | April 30, 1920 | Hanging | Murder |
Jacob Lutz | White | M | July 22, 1921 | Hanging | Murder |
Hobart Green | White | M | August 5, 1921 | Hanging | Murder |
Henry Harbor | Black | M | January 7, 1922 | Hanging | Murder |
Leroy Williams | Black | M | March 3, 1922 | Hanging | Rape |
Monroe Payton | Black | M | May 4, 1922 | Hanging | Rape |
George Banhage | White | M | November 2, 1923 | Hanging | Murder |
Nick Salamante | White | M | January 4, 1924 | Hanging | Murder |
Philip Connizzaro | White | M | January 4, 1924 | Hanging | Murder |
Richard Ferri | White | M | January 4, 1924 | Hanging | Murder |
Samuel Muratore | White | M | February 15, 1924 | Hanging | Murder |
Tiny McCoy | White | M | September 12, 1924 | Hanging | Murder |
Robert Ford | Black | M | January 29, 1926 | Hanging | Murder |
Harry Sawyer | Black | M | April 19, 1926 | Hanging | Rape |
Philip Euman | Black | M | August 20, 1926 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Henry Jackson | Black | M | September 10, 1926 | Hanging | Murder |
Pierce Jefferies | Black | M | February 18, 1927 | Hanging | Rape |
Wesley Swain | White | M | February 3, 1928 | Hanging | Rape |
Andrew Brady | Black | M | March 30, 1928 | Hanging | Rape |
Lawrence Pike | White | M | August 10, 1928 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Henry Grogan | Black | M | February 8, 1929 | Hanging | Rape |
Theodore Carr | White | M | June 14, 1929 | Hanging | Murder |
Walter Wilmot | White | M | September 13, 1929 | Hanging | Murder |
Willard Morrison | White | M | September 13, 1929 | Hanging | Murder |
Walter Crabtree | White | M | May 9, 1930 | Hanging | Murder |
Roosevelt Darnell | White | M | November 14, 1930 | Hanging | Murder |
William C. Adams | White | M | February 20, 1931 | Hanging | Murder |
Emory Stephens | White | M | February 20, 1931 | Hanging | Murder |
Frank Myer | White | M | June 19, 1931 | Hanging | Murder |
Harry Powers | White | M | March 18, 1932 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
James Blount | Black | M | May 12, 1932 | Hanging | Murder |
Omer Brill | White | M | August 10, 1933 | Hanging | Murder |
Leo Fraser | White | M | November 24, 1933 | Hanging | Murder |
Joe Corey | White | M | December 8, 1933 | Hanging | Murder |
Greely Blankenship | White | M | January 7, 1935 | Hanging | Murder |
Robert Branch | Black | M | July 19, 1935 | Hanging | Murder |
Frank Pramera | White | M | April 13, 1937 | Hanging | Murder |
Willy Becker | White | M | June 25, 1937 | Hanging | Murder |
Mervin Brown | Black | M | September 10, 1937 | Hanging | Murder |
William Read | White | M | November 5, 1937 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Raymond Styres | White | M | March 13, 1938 | Hanging | Murder |
John Travis | White | M | March 21, 1938 | Hanging | Kidnapping and Murder |
Arnett Booth | White | M | March 21, 1938 | Hanging | Kidnapping and Murder |
Orville Adkins | White | M | March 21, 1938 | Hanging | Kidnapping and Murder |
Hartman Byzantine | White | M | June 28, 1940 | Hanging | Murder |
Paul Tross | Black | M | December 6, 1940 | Hanging | Rape |
James Chambers | Black | M | March 30, 1945 | Hanging | Rape and Murder |
William Turner | White | M | December 28, 1945 | Hanging | Murder |
Richard Collins | White | M | January 11, 1946 | Hanging | Murder |
William Gordon | White | M | January 3, 1947 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Paul Burton | White | M | January 2, 1948 | Hanging | Murder |
Mark McCauley | White | M | January 30, 1948 | Hanging | Murder |
Matthew Perison | Black | M | September 23, 1948 | Hanging | Murder |
Lemuel Steed | Black | M | January 15, 1949 | Hanging | Robbery and Murder |
Bud Peterson | Black | M | February 25, 1949 | Hanging | Murder |
Harry Burdette | White | M | March 26, 1951 | Electrocution | Murder |
Fred Painter | White | M | March 26, 1951 | Electrocution | Murder |
James Hewlett, Jr. | White | M | April 10, 1951 | Electrocution | Robbery and Murder |
Oshel Gardener | White | M | April 17, 1953 | Electrocution | Robbery and Murder |
Tom Ingham | Black | M | March 27, 1954 | Electrocution | Murder |
Robert Hopkins | White | M | September 7, 1956 | Electrocution | Robbery and Murder |
Eugene Linger | White | M | June 5, 1958 | Electrocution | Murder |
Larry Fudge | White | M | July 1, 1958 | Electrocution | Rape and Murder |
Elmer Bruner | White | M | April 3, 1959 | Electrocution | Burglary and Murder |
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature. Hanging has been a common method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and is the primary execution method in numerous countries and regions. The first known account of execution by hanging is in Homer's Odyssey. Hanging is also a method of suicide.
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964; capital punishment for murder was suspended in 1965 and finally abolished in 1969. Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998; the last execution for treason took place in 1946. In 2004, Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom; it prohibits the restoration of the death penalty as long as the UK is a party to the convention.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 7, as well as the federal government and military, subject to moratoriums.
The list of people executed by the U.S. state of Texas, with the exception of 1819–1849, is divided into periods of 10 years.
Capital punishment was abolished in 2019 in New Hampshire for persons convicted of capital murder. It remains a legal penalty for crimes committed prior to May 30, 2019.
Capital punishment – the process of sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes and carrying out that sentence, as ordered by a legal system – first appeared in New Zealand in a codified form when New Zealand became a British colony in 1840. It was first carried out with a public hanging in Victoria Street, Auckland in 1842, while the last execution occurred in 1957 at Mount Eden Prison, also in Auckland. In total, 85 people have been lawfully executed in New Zealand.
The use of capital punishment by the United States military is a legal punishment in martial criminal justice. Despite its legality, capital punishment has not been imposed by the U.S. military in over sixty years.
Capital punishment was abolished in Virginia on March 24, 2021, when Governor Ralph Northam signed a bill into law. The law took effect on July 1, 2021. Virginia is the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, and the first southern state in United States history to do so.
Capital punishment is forbidden by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Czech Republic and is simultaneously prohibited by international legal obligations arising from the Czech Republic's membership of both the Council of Europe and the European Union.
Capital punishment was abolished in the U.S. State of West Virginia in 1965.
Elmer David Bruner was a convicted American murderer. He was the last defendant executed by West Virginia, as the state abolished the capital punishment six years after his execution. Bruner was convicted of the May 1957 murder of 58-year-old Ruby H. Miller, who walked in on Bruner burglarizing her house and was then beaten to death. Bruner's trial and conviction took place in 1957, although appeals delayed his execution for almost two years.
Capital punishment in Afghanistan is legal and could be carried out secretly or publicly. The convict could be hanged or shot to death. Stoning, amputation, and flogging were also sometimes used as a method for punishment, especially during the late 1990s. Public executions have existed throughout Afghanistan's history. They have continued with the Taliban returning to power in August 2021. Some executions were recently condemned by the United Nations. The capital offenses in Afghanistan generally include heinous crimes such as mass murder and are governed by Sharia, along with civil laws.
Capital punishment in Montenegro was first prescribed by law in 1798. It was abolished on 19 June 2002. The last execution, by shooting, took place on 29 January 1981, and the two last death sentences were pronounced on 11 October 2001. Montenegro is bound by the following international conventions prohibiting capital punishment : Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as Protocols No. 6 and No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 26 of the Montenegrin Constitution (2007) that outlawed the death penalty states: "In Montenegro, capital punishment punishment is forbidden”.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Jordan. The country had a moratorium on capital punishment between 2006 and 2014. In late 2014 the moratorium was lifted and 11 people were executed. Two more executions followed in 2015, 15 executions took place in 2017 and one in 2021. The method of execution is hanging, although shooting was previously the sole method for carrying out executions.
Capital punishment in Hawaii ended in 1957 when it was still an organized incorporated territory of the United States. About 75 people were executed by the government, all for the crime of murder, and all by hanging. Additionally, during and after World War II, at least seven U.S. servicemen were executed by the United States Armed Forces by order of a general court martial.