List of people executed in the United States in 1920

One hundred and two people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1920, fifty-nine by electrocution, and forty-three by hanging. ^[1]

List of people executed in the United States in 1920

No.	Date of execution	Name	Age of person			Gender	Ethnicity	State	Method	Ref.
			At execution	At offense	Age difference
1	January 2, 1920	Marquis Lafayette Newell	36	36	0	Male	White	California	Hanging	[2]
2		Raffaelo Durazzio	33	Unknown	Unknown			Illinois		[1]
3	January 5, 1920	Robert Henry Brown	30	28	2		Black	Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[3]
4	January 8, 1920	Vincenzo Esposito	31	27	4		White	New York		[4]
5		Winford Walker	17	16	1		Black	Tennessee		[1]
6	January 16, 1920	Allen Spight	Unknown	Unknown	0			Mississippi	Hanging	[5]
7		Churchill L. Godley	34	Unknown	Unknown		White	North Carolina	Electrocution	[6]
8	January 29, 1920	Gordon Fawcett Hamby	27	26	1			New York		[7]
9	February 9, 1920	Lawrence Brown	20	19			Black	Pennsylvania		[8]
10		William Hiter	21	20
11	February 20, 1920	John O'Brien					White	Illinois	Hanging	[9]
12		Melvin Calhoun	Unknown	Unknown	0		Black	Louisiana		[1]
13	March 1, 1920	Lazarus Bollin	17	16	1			Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[10]
14		Boza Drascovich	23	20	3		White
15	March 2, 1920	James Henry Jackson	27	26	1		Black	District of Columbia	Hanging	[11]
16	March 5, 1920	Daniel Cerrone	31	Unknown	Unknown		White	Connecticut		[1]
17		Sanford Gardner Cain	41	39	2			North Carolina	Electrocution	[12]
18		Joseph Albert Cain	38	37	1
19	March 9, 1920	Jacob D. Edinger	26	Unknown	Unknown			Ohio		[13]
20		Edward Ness	30	Unknown	Unknown
21	March 10, 1920	Charles Music	24	23	1			Kentucky		[14]
22	March 11, 1920	Petrie "Will Lockett" Kimbrough	31	31	0		Black			[15]
23	March 23, 1920	John Dodd Price	42	42				Texas	Hanging	[16]
24	March 26, 1920	Eli McGuire	Unknown	Unknown	1			Louisiana		[17]
25	March 29, 1920	Frank Green	34	32	2			Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[18]
26	March 31, 1920	Vincenzo Damico	24	23	1		White	Ohio		[1]
27	April 16, 1920	Simplicio Torrez					Hispanic	Arizona	Hanging	[19]
28		William Yancy Mills	20	19			Black	Illinois		[20]
29	April 27, 1920	Buck Dunmore	21		2			Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[21]
30	April 30, 1920	Fred Shelton	Unknown	Unknown	0			Georgia	Hanging	[1]
31		Hugh Jackson Bragg	21	21			White	West Virginia		[22]
32	May 3, 1920	Samuel Dolish	35	33	2			Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[18]
33	May 13, 1920	Chester D. Cantine	21	20	1			New York		[23]
34		Richard Harrison	26	24	2
35	May 28, 1920	Willie Lamerson	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Louisiana	Hanging	[1]
36		Leo Jankowski	26	25	1		White	New York	Electrocution	[24]
37		Walter Levandowski	25	24
38	June 1, 1920	Benny Rowland	20	18	2		Black	Pennsylvania		[25]
39		William Russell	22	21	1
40		Edward Brown	48	46	2
41	July 9, 1920	Mark Peters	Unknown	Unknown				Louisiana	Hanging	[1]
42		Lee Monroe Betterton	48	47	1		White	Oklahoma	Electrocution	[26]
43	July 16, 1920	Will Stover	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Alabama	Hanging	[1]
44	July 20, 1920	Charles H. Ivy	65	64	1		White	Mississippi		[27]
45	July 22, 1920	James Montague Byrd	26	Unknown	Unknown		Black	New York	Electrocution	[28]
46	July 23, 1920	Robert Blackwell	30	26	4		White	Florida	Hanging	[29]
47		Isaiah Fountain	Unknown	Unknown	1		Black	Maryland		[30]
48	July 29, 1920	Elmer Henry Hyatt	20	19	1		White	New York	Electrocution	[31]
49	July 30, 1920	Edgar Charles Caldwell	28	26	2		Black	Alabama	Hanging	[32]
50		Hosea Poole	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown			Florida		[1]
51	August 5, 1920	William Ray	18	17	1			Indiana	Electrocution	[33]
52	August 6, 1920	John Maxwell	20	Unknown	Unknown			South Carolina		[34]
53	August 13, 1920	Frank Bailey	Unknown	Unknown	2			Louisiana	Hanging	[1]
54	August 14, 1920	Victor Tobay	24	24	0		Native American	Arkansas	Electrocution	[35]
55	August 16, 1920	Francisco Feci	37	35	2		White	Massachusetts		[36]
56	August 20, 1920	Charles Jasper	Unknown	Unknown	0		Black	Georgia	Hanging	[37]
57		Charles Marshall	34	34			White	Mississippi		[38]
58	August 27, 1920	T. Niino	40	39	1		Asian	California		[39]
59		John P. Egan	25	Unknown	Unknown		White	New York	Electrocution	[40]
60		Frank Kelly	40	Unknown	Unknown		Black
61	September 3, 1920	Alfred Lane	36	36	0		White	Montana	Hanging	[41]
62		Lorenzo Young	25	24	1		Black	Tennessee	Electrocution	[1]
63	September 9, 1920	Walter Bojanowski	28	26	2		White	New York		[42]
64	September 10, 1920	Henry Lloyd	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Mississippi	Hanging	[43]
65	September 14, 1920	Camill Martin	25	23	2	White	New Jersey	Electrocution	[44]
66	September 17, 1920	Edward Doyle	26	25	1		Louisiana	Hanging	[1]
67		Cornelius Tillman	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Black
68	September 20, 1920	Ralph Connor	20	19	1		North Carolina	Electrocution	[45]
69	September 24, 1920	Mose Gibson	36	36	0		California	Hanging	[46]
70		James Washington	25	25			South Carolina	Electrocution	[1]
71	October 14, 1920	Frank Campione	23	Unknown	Unknown	White	Illinois	Hanging	[47]
72		John Henry Reese	40	Unknown	Unknown	Black
73	October 27, 1920	Frank Bowman	39	35	4		District of Columbia		[48]
74	October 29, 1920	Paul "Arthur Collins" Ponovich	22	22	0	White	California		[49]
75	November 1, 1920	John A. Morrison	26	23	3		Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[50]
76		Samuel Coles	23	20		Black
77	November 5, 1920	Andrew Jackson	30	Unknown	Unknown		North Carolina		[51]
78		Emmett D. Bancroft	29	29	0	White	Oregon	Hanging	[52]
79	November 13, 1920	Robert Williams	23	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Virginia	Electrocution	[1]
80	November 17, 1920	Frank Zagar	22	19	3	White	Illinois	Hanging	[53]
81	November 19, 1920	Charlie Cooper	Unknown	Unknown	0	Black	Arkansas	Electrocution	[1]
82		Arthur E. Haensel	29	27	2	White	Illinois	Hanging	[54]
83	November 26, 1920	Ernest Thomas	21	21	0	Black	Delaware		[55]
84	December 3, 1920	Ong Mon Foo	22		1	Asian	California		[56]
85		Lemuel Price	24	23		Black	Delaware		[57]
86		Tom Johnson	20	Unknown	Unknown		North Carolina	Electrocution	[58]
87		Arthur McDowell	30	30	0
88	December 9, 1920	Howard I. Baker	21	20	1	White	New York		[59]
89		James P. Cassidy	27	25	2
90		Charles McLaughlin	23	21
91		Joseph Milano
92		Joseph Usefof
93	December 10, 1920	George Bosko	29	28	1		Colorado	Hanging	[60]
94		Nicholas Vianna	19	Unknown	Unknown		Illinois		[1]
95		Will Thornton	21	21	0	Black	Indiana	Electrocution	[61]
96	December 13, 1920	William Johnson	47	Unknown	Unknown		Pennsylvania		[62]
97		Jennaro Sansone	24	Unknown	Unknown	White
98	December 14, 1920	Grover Butler	25	24	1	Black	South Carolina		[63]
99	December 17, 1920	Maher Singh	30	29		Asian	California	Hanging	[64]
100	December 20, 1920	Alson B. Cole Jr.	24	21	3	White	Nebraska	Electrocution	[65]
101		Allen Vincent Grammer
102		Lindsey Moore	30	28	2	Black	Pennsylvania		[66]

Demographics

Gender
Male	102	100%
Female	0	0%
Ethnicity
Black	50	49%
White	47	46%
Asian	3	3%
Hispanic	1	1%
Native American	1	1%
State
New York	16	16%
Pennsylvania	16	16%
Illinois	8	8%
Louisiana	7	7%
North Carolina	7	7%
California	6	6%
Mississippi	4	4%
Ohio	3	3%
South Carolina	3	3%
Alabama	2	2%
Arkansas	2	2%
Delaware	2	2%
District of Columbia	2	2%
Florida	2	2%
Georgia	2	2%
Indiana	2	2%
Kentucky	2	2%
Nebraska	2	2%
Tennessee	2	2%
Arizona	1	1%
Colorado	1	1%
Connecticut	1	1%
Maryland	1	1%
Massachusetts	1	1%
Montana	1	1%
New Jersey	1	1%
Oklahoma	1	1%
Oregon	1	1%
Texas	1	1%
Virginia	1	1%
West Virginia	1	1%
Method
Electrocution	59	58%
Hanging	43	42%
Month
January	8	8%
February	4	4%
March	14	14%
April	5	5%
May	6	6%
June	3	3%
July	10	10%
August	10	10%
September	10	10%
October	4	4%
November	9	9%
December	19	19%
Age
Unknown	14	14%
10–19	4	4%
20–29	54	53%
30–39	21	21%
40–49	8	8%
50–59	0	0%
60–69	1	1%
Total	102	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1921	142
1920	102
1919	65
Total	309

References

1. "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved December 8, 2025.
2. "Newell Faints as He Is Led to San Quentin Gallows". The Evening News. January 2, 1920. p. 1.
3. "Commonwealth v. Brown". Google Books.
4. "State v. Esposito". Google Books.
5. "Spight v. State". Google Books.
6. "Churchill Godley..." The Robesonian. January 19, 1920. p. 1.
7. "Murderer Pays Supreme Penalty". Ellensburg Daily Record. January 30, 1920. p. 1.
8. "Six to Die". Reading Eagle. January 28, 1920. p. 21.
9. "Smiling Jack O'Brien Pays Full Penalty". The Morning Leader. February 21, 1920. p. 1.
10. "Two New Castle Slayers Executed". The Pittsburgh Press. March 1, 1920. p. 9.
11. "Today's Events". St. Petersburg Daily Times. March 2, 1920. p. 5.
12. "First White Pair to Be Electrocuted in N. C." The Robesonian. March 8, 1920. p. 5.
13. "Double Electrocution". Ellensburg Daily Record. March 10, 1920. p. 7.
14. "Music Electrocuted". Portsmouth Daily Times. March 11, 1920. p. 3.
15. "Will Lockett Electrocuted". The Meriden Daily Journal. March 12, 1920. p. 2.
16. "Swift Justice". Prescott Journal Miner. March 24, 1920. p. 1.
17. "State v. McGuire". Google Books.
18. "Allegheny Countian Executed at Prison". The Pittsburgh Press. March 29, 1920. p. 16.
19. "Torrez v. State". Google Books.
20. "Negro is Hanged". The Telegraph-Herald. April 16, 1920. p. 1.
21. "Pardons Granted 14; 15 Appeals Refused". The Gazette Times. April 22, 1920. p. 5.
22. "To Hang Murderer". The Toledo News-Bee. April 30, 1920. p. 27.
23. "Two Slayers Die in Sing Sing Chair". The Pittsburgh Press. May 14, 1920. p. 17.
24. "GUARD'S SLAYERS DIE IN SING SING CHAIR; Janowski and Levandowski Feast Calmly and Meet Fate Stolidly". The New York Times. May 28, 1920.(subscription required)
25. "Three Allegheny Slayers Executed". The Pittsburgh Press. June 1, 1920. p. 34.
26. "Betterton Electrocuted; Protests Innocence". The Monett Times via newspapers.com. July 16, 1920. p. 6.
27. "Aged Man Hanged Whose Sentence Had Previously Been Commuted". The Polk County News. July 30, 1920. p. 6.
28. "BEGS TO DIE IN CHAIR ON 26TH BIRTHDAY; Sing Sing Prisoner Asks That the Date be Advanced One Day, to May 26". The New York Times. May 24, 1920.
29. "3,000 Persons See Man Hang". The Southeast Missourian. July 26, 1920. p. 3.
30. "Fountain Beaten Before Execution". The Afro-American. July 30, 1920. p. 1.
31. "Patrolman's Murderer Pays Death Penalty". The Morning Leader. July 30, 1920. p. 1.
32. "Preaches to Crowd On Way to Gallows". The Morning Leader. July 30, 1920. p. 19.
33. "Start Trial of Negro Slayer of Little Girl". Warsaw Union. April 27, 1920. p. 1.
34. "Electric Chair Fails to Work-Execution of Negro Postponed for Two Weeks". The Observer. July 27, 1920. p. 1.
35. "Indian Is Electrocuted For Murder in Arkansas". The Gazette Times. August 15, 1920. p. 2.
36. "Feci Electrocuted Early This Morning". The Lewiston Daily Sun. August 16, 1920. p. 1.
37. "Negro is Hanged On Conviction Of Assault". Herald-Journal. August 21, 1920. p. 1.
38. "Death Penalty Paid By Farmer in Baby's Death". The Nevada Daily Mail. August 21, 1920. p. 1.
39. "Japanese Hanged". Berkeley Daily Gazette. August 27, 1920. p. 16.
40. "Big Watermelon for Last Supper of Negro Slayer". The Vancouver Sun. August 27, 1920. p. 1.
41. "Slayer of Neighbor Hanged". The Spokesman-Review. September 7, 1920. p. 8.
42. "Faced Death Calmly". The Morning Leader. September 10, 1920. p. 1.
43. "Hanging is Delayed And Mob Takes Hand". The Observer. September 17, 1920. p. 6.
44. "Execute Camille Martin in State Prison Tuesday". Newark Sunday Call. September 12, 1920. p. 6.
45. "Ralph Conner Was Executed". The Evening Independent. September 21, 1920. p. 7.
46. "Mose Gibson Hanged At San Quentin". The Evening News. September 24, 1920. p. 1.
47. "Two Murderers Go To Gallows Today". Ellensburg Daily Record. October 14, 1920. p. 1.
48. "Bowman v. United States". vLex.
49. "Murderer of L. A. Policeman Is Hanged". The Bakersfield Californian. October 30, 1920. p. 5.
50. "2 Electrocuted at Bellefonte". The Gazette Times. November 2, 1920. p. 7.
51. "Electrocute Negro in Prison Today". The Evening Independent. November 5, 1920. p. 8.
52. "To Die on Gallows for Sheriff's Murder". Warsaw Daily Times and the Northern Indianian. November 5, 1920. p. 4.
53. "Ten of Chicago Gunmen Escape Today's Gallows". Youngstown Vindicator. October 14, 1920. p. 1.
54. "Wife-Slayer Hangs Today". The Southeast Missourian. November 19, 1920. p. 1.
55. "Examines Condemned Man". The Sunday Morning Star. November 7, 1920. p. 9.
56. "People v. Ong Mon Foo". Google Books.
57. "Workhouse Wanderer Not In 1920 Census". The Sunday Morning Star. January 18, 1920. p. 6.
58. "Two Negroes Put to Death". The Mount Airy News. December 16, 1920. p. 4.
59. "Five Men Go to Death Tonight". Reading Eagle. December 9, 1920. p. 2.
60. "George Bosko Paid the Penalty". The Pueblo Indicator. December 18, 1920. p. 1.
61. "George Bosko Paid the Penalty". Indianapolis News. December 10, 1920. p. 26.
62. "Five Shocks to Kill". Gettysburg Times. December 14, 1920. p. 2.
63. "Grover Butler is Electrocuted". Herald-Journal. December 15, 1920. p. 2.
64. "Hindu Hanged for Countryman's Murder". The Bakersfield Californian. December 17, 1920. p. 2.
65. "Nebraska Hires Executioner". The Observer. December 24, 1920. p. 2.
66. "Official Report of Execution". Greensburg Daily Tribune. December 21, 1920. p. 2.

Preceded by 1919

List of people executed       in the United States in    1920

Succeeded by 1921