List of people executed in the United States in 1928

One hundred and forty-five people, one hundred and forty-four male and one female, were executed in the United States in 1928, one hundred and eight by electrocution and thirty-seven by hanging. ^[1]

List of people executed in the United States in 1928

No.	Date of execution	Name	Age of person			Gender	Ethnicity	State	Method	Ref.
			At execution	At offense	Age difference
1	January 5, 1928	Charles J. Doran	23	22	1	Male	White	New York	Electrocution	[2]
2		Louis Mason	24	23			Black
3	January 6, 1928	Floyd Allen Hewitt	17	16			White	Ohio		[3]
4	January 9, 1928	John Coverson	18	17			Black			[4]
5		Raymond Winter	32	29	3		White	Pennsylvania		[5]
6		William Meyers	Unknown	Unknown	1
7	January 12, 1928	May Ruth Snyder	32	31		Female		New York		[6]
8		Henry Judd Gray	35	34		Male
9	January 13, 1928	Garfield Fuller	44	44	0		Black	Georgia		[1]
10	January 20, 1928	Albert Quinn	25	24	1					[7]
11	January 23, 1928	Leon Scovern	20	18	2		White	Pennsylvania		[8]
12	January 25, 1928	Ben H. Fowler	35	34	1			Tennessee		[9]
13		Shirley Winningham	25	25	0		Black	Virginia		[10]
14	January 27, 1928	Byron Dunn	Unknown	Unknown	3		White	Louisiana	Hanging	[11]
15	February 3, 1928	Wesley Homer Swain	45	Unknown	Unknown			West Virginia		[12]
16	February 10, 1928	Aaron Ray	32	31	1		Black	Louisiana		[1]
17		George Jefferson Hassell	39	38			White	Texas	Electrocution	[13]
18		Robert Lee Benton	24	23			Black
19	February 15, 1928	Manuel Lopez	41	40			Hispanic	Washington	Hanging	[14]
20	February 17, 1928	David Devlin	22	21			Black	North Carolina	Electrocution	[15]
21	February 20, 1928	Frank Arnold	47	45	2			Pennsylvania		[16]
22		Frank Edward Lockett	33	31
23	February 21, 1928	Robert Coates	36	36	0			Georgia		[17]
24	February 24, 1928	Eugene Huggins	22	22				Mississippi	Hanging	[18]
25		Marion Walton	24	24
26	February 28, 1928	Jerry Gedzium	21	18	3		White	Massachusetts	Electrocution	[19]
27	March 1, 1928	Philip Ecker		20	1			New York		[20]
28	March 9, 1928	John T. Burchfield	26	25				Alabama		[1]
29		Charlie Washington	30	28	2		Black
30		Joseph Genna	23	22	1		White	Louisiana	Hanging	[21]
31		Molton Brasseaux	26	24	2
32	March 13, 1928	Herbert J. Gleason	21	19				Massachusetts	Electrocution	[22]
33	March 15, 1928	Eddie Peppers		21	0		Black	Ohio		[23]
34	March 30, 1928	Willie Eutsey		20	1			Arkansas		[24]
35		Will McKenzie	55	54
36		Jasper Raymond Noakes	22	20	2		White	Colorado	Hanging	[25]
37		Arthur Alonzo Osborn		21	1
38		Andrew Jack Brady	33	Unknown	Unknown		Black	West Virginia		[26]
39	April 6, 1928	Isiah Brooks	18	18	0			Alabama	Electrocution	[1]
40		Frank D. Baldwin	22	18	4			New York		[27]
41	April 10, 1928	John Grzyb		20	2		White	Indiana		[1]
42	April 12, 1928	Willie Ben Fisher	31	29			Black	Texas		[28]
43	April 18, 1928	Henry Ellis	25	24	1			Georgia		[29]
44	April 19, 1928	Charles Itzak Birger	47	45	2		White	Illinois	Hanging	[30]
45	April 20, 1928	Matthew Seminary	31	30	1			Louisiana		[31]
46		Ellsworth Kelley	32	29	3			Oregon		[32]
47		James Willos	30	27
48	April 23, 1928	Rodger Loftus	Unknown	Unknown	2		Black	Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[33]
49		Marko Matakovich	35	34	1		White
50	April 27, 1928	Clarence O. Thomas	24	23			Black	North Carolina		[34]
51	May 4, 1928	Willard Clinton Shannon	27	25	2		White	California	Hanging	[35]
52		Edgar Price	24	22			Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
53	May 11, 1928	Clarence Kelly	23	21			White	California	Hanging	[36]
54	May 18, 1928	James E. Grant	26	25	1		Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
55		Burn Gray	36	Unknown	Unknown			Virginia
56	May 25, 1928	John Clyburn	22	21	1			North Carolina		[37]
57	May 29, 1928	Philip Jackson	30	29				District of Columbia		[38]
58	May 31, 1928	John Fisher	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown			Mississippi	Hanging	[1]
59	June 1, 1928	George Yarrow	28	27	1		White	New Jersey	Electrocution	[39]
60		Lawrence Davenport	22	21			Black	Texas		[40]
61	June 8, 1928	Charlie Hicks	21	20				Georgia		[41]
62	June 13, 1928	Robert Carlton Pittman	26	24	2			Florida		[42]
63	June 15, 1928	Robert Shelton	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown			Alabama		[43]
64		Hines Loftin	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown			Mississippi	Hanging	[44]
65	June 19, 1928	Will Terrell	22	21	1			Tennessee	Electrocution	[45]
66	June 21, 1928	Wilmot Leroy Wagner	25	24			White	New York		[46]
67	June 22, 1928	By W. L. Sam	27	25	2		Asian	Arizona	Hanging	[47]
68		Shew Chin	23	21
69		Jew Har	30	28
70		Gee King Long
71		Nicholas Lee Eagles	31	30	1		White	District of Columbia	Electrocution	[48]
72		Samuel Moreno	21	19	2
73		John Cline Proctor	19	17
74	June 28, 1928	Robert Jones	22	21	1	Black	Georgia	[1]
75	June 29, 1928	Walter Wigger	31	29	2	White	Oklahoma	[49]
76		Theodore Bruster	21	20	1	Black
77		Willie O'Neil	27	24	3
78	July 5, 1928	James Coleman	18	18	0		Ohio	[50]
79		William Henry Wilson	19	19
80	July 6, 1928	Harold A. Hammond	36	35	1	White	Georgia	[51]
81		Medie Neely McCloud	29	28		Black
82	July 10, 1928	Sinner Brown	Unknown	Unknown			Arkansas	[52]
83	July 13, 1928	Sam B. Gower	45	45	0	White	Georgia	[53]
84		Preddis Taylor	33	32	1	Black
85		Milford Lawson	35	33	2	White	Kentucky	[54]
86		Orlando Seymour	21	19
87		Hascue Dockery	19	17
88		Charles Paul Mitra	22	21	1
89		William Moore	45	43	2	Black
90		James Howard	22	43
91		Clarence McQueen	38	36
92		Greene Kirk	39	39	0		Mississippi	Hanging	[55]
93		Will Burdo	Unknown	Unknown	1
94	July 17, 1928	Nathan Desatnick	24	23		White	Massachusetts	Electrocution	[56]
95	July 19, 1928	Joseph Lefkowitz	31	30			New York		[57]
96	July 20, 1928	Rodell Peoples	27	27	0	Black	Alabama		[1]
97	July 27, 1928	James Washington	19	Unknown	Unknown		Virginia
98	July 30, 1928	Joseph Kameniski Jr.	20	20	0	White	Pennsylvania		[58]
99	August 2, 1928	Ludwig Halverson Lie	39	38	1		New York		[59]
100	August 3, 1928	Jim Hugh Moss	31	30		Black	Georgia		[60]
101		Clifford F. Thompson	23	22		White
102		Charles P. Carey	28	27			Maryland	Hanging	[61]
103		Benjamin F. Spragins
104		Garrett Thomas	32	31		Black	Texas	Electrocution	[62]
105	August 9, 1928	George Appel	41	40		White	New York		[63]
106		Daniel J. Graham Jr.	26	25
107		Alexander Kalinowski	50	49
108	August 10, 1928	Emmett Lurly Bailey	38	37			Washington	Hanging	[64]
109		Lawrence Charles Fike	31	30			West Virginia		[65]
110	August 17, 1928	Mark Dowell	24	23			California		[66]
111	August 22, 1928	Henry Brown	Unknown	Unknown	0	Black	Tennessee	Electrocution	[1]
112	August 28, 1928	Will Vaughn	Unknown	Unknown	2		Florida		[67]
113	August 30, 1928	Martin Luther Miller	32	32	0		New York		[68]
114	August 31, 1928	Wallace Cloyce Gaines	47	45	2	White	Washington	Hanging	[69]
115	September 4, 1928	Melvin Johnson	26	25	1	Black	Florida	Electrocution	[1]
116	September 7, 1928	Clemente Rodriguez	22	21		Hispanic	Texas		[70]
117		Esquiel Servina	21	20
118	September 10, 1928	Pete Robinson	30	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Arkansas		[1]
119	September 18, 1928	Paul Crumpler	29	29	0		Florida
120	September 25, 1928	James Turner	27	26	1
121	September 28, 1928	Larry Newsome	22	21			North Carolina		[71]
122		O.T. Alexander	40	39			Texas		[72]
123		Tom Ross	35	34
124	October 1, 1928	William R. Phillips	34	34	0	White	Pennsylvania		[73]
125		Jesse G. Parker	21	21
126	October 9, 1928	George Davis	25	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Florida		[1]
127	October 10, 1928	Charles Shader	21	19	2	White	Illinois	Hanging	[74]
128	October 19, 1928	William Edward Hickman	20		1		California		[75]
129		John Burke	23	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Mississippi		[1]
130		Frank Ewing Sharp	51	49	2	White	Nebraska	Electrocution	[76]
131	October 23, 1928	Herbert Harvey	21	20	1	Black	Florida		[1]
132	October 30, 1928	Roosevelt Kirkland	25	24
133	November 16, 1928	Hopkins Watkins	27	Unknown	Unknown		Maryland	Hanging	[77]
134	November 26, 1928	Charles Lovell	46	46	0	White	Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[78]
135	November 30, 1928	Charles J. "Stanley" Hoppe	26	26			Ohio		[79]
136		John Rucker	46	45	1	Black
137	December 3, 1928	Rogers Dilsworth	Unknown	Unknown	3		Pennsylvania		[80]
138	December 7, 1928	John Joseph Malone	30	29	1	White	California	Hanging	[81]
139	December 14, 1928	Robert Percy Lofton	35	32	3		Mississippi		[82]
140		Thomas Moran	22	20	2		New York	Electrocution	[83]
141	December 15, 1928	Dominick Bressette	33	33	0	Native American	Illinois		[84]
142		John Brown	32	32		Black
143		Claude Clarke	48	48
144	December 19, 1928	Richard Henry Sheppard	56	55	1	Native American	Georgia		[85]
145	December 31, 1928	Wray Wormsley	24	23		Black	Pennsylvania		[86]

Demographics

Gender
Male	144	99%
Female	1	1%
Ethnicity
Black	73	50%
White	63	43%
Asian	4	3%
Hispanic	3	2%
Native American	2	1%
State
Georgia	15	10%
New York	14	10%
Pennsylvania	13	9%
Texas	9	6%
Florida	8	6%
Mississippi	8	6%
Kentucky	7	5%
Ohio	7	5%
Alabama	5	3%
California	5	3%
Illinois	5	3%
Louisiana	5	3%
Arizona	4	3%
Arkansas	4	3%
District of Columbia	4	3%
North Carolina	4	3%
Maryland	3	2%
Massachusetts	3	2%
Oklahoma	3	2%
Tennessee	3	2%
Virginia	3	2%
Washington	3	2%
West Virginia	3	2%
Colorado	2	1%
Oregon	2	1%
Indiana	1	1%
Nebraska	1	1%
New Jersey	1	1%
Method
Electrocution	108	74%
Hanging	37	26%
Month
January	14	10%
February	12	8%
March	12	8%
April	12	8%
May	8	6%
June	19	13%
July	21	14%
August	16	11%
September	9	6%
October	9	6%
November	4	3%
December	9	6%
Age
Unknown	11	8%
10–19	8	6%
20–29	69	48%
30–39	40	28%
40–49	13	9%
50–59	4	3%
Total	145	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1929	102
1928	145
1927	139
Total	386

References

1. "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
2. "2 BID GRAY GOOD-BYE, THEN DIE IN CHAIR; Doran and Mason Executed for Murders in Albany and Buffalo". The New York Times. January 6, 1928.
3. "2 BID GRAY GOOD-BYE, THEN DIE IN CHAIR; Doran and Mason Executed for Murders in Albany and Buffalo". The New York Times. January 7, 1928.
4. "Officer's Slayer is Electrocuted". The Sunday Vindicator. January 10, 1928. p. 3.
5. "Two Executed at Rockview Pen". Gettysburg Times. January 9, 1928. p. 1.
6. "Snyder And Gray Die With Prayers On Lips". The Meriden Daily Journal. January 13, 1928. p. 3.
7. "Negro Pays Penalty". St. Petersburg Times. January 21, 1928. p. 1.
8. "Youth Executed at Bellefonte". Gettysburg Times. January 23, 1928. p. 2.
9. "Former Deputy Sheriff Executed at Nashville". Times Daily. January 23, 1928. p. 1.
10. "Negro Executed for Slaying White Girl". The Newburgh News. January 25, 1928. p. 7.
11. "Louisiana Hanging". Berkeley Daily Gazette. January 27, 1928. p. 5.
12. "Man Who Attacked Girl Is Hanged". The Vancouver Sun. February 4, 1928. p. 1.
13. "Wholesale Killer is Electrocuted". The Free Lance-Star. February 10, 1928. p. 1.
14. "Manuel Lopez Hanged". Eugene Register-Guard. February 15, 1928. p. 1.
15. "Says Devlin Shot Charlotte Man". The Robesonian. February 20, 1928. p. 25.
16. "Negroes Electrocuted For Their Crimes". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. February 20, 1928. p. 20.
17. "Coates v. State". Google Books.
18. "Walton v. State". Google Books.
19. "Jerry the Pole Goes to Chair". The Sunday Tribune. February 28, 1928. p. 14.
20. "Going to Chair, Gives Away $2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 2, 1928. p. 1.
21. "Pals in Crime Die on Gallows". St. Petersburg Times. March 10, 1928. p. 2.
22. "Boston Slayer Is Executed". The New York Times. March 13, 1928.
23. "Slayer Dies in Electric Chair". Painesville Telegraph. March 16, 1928. p. 1.
24. "Two Executed in Arkansas". Lawrence Journal-World. March 30, 1928. p. 2.
25. "Two Men Hanged in Colo. Prison". Beaver Falls Tribune. March 30, 1928. p. 11.
26. "Negro Murderer Hanged". The Washington Reporter. March 31, 1928. p. 13.
27. "BALDWIN DIES IN CHAIR FOR SLAYING FARMER; Negro Is Put to Death at Sing Sing --Witnesses Searched for Cameras". The New York Times. April 6, 1928.
28. "Fisher v. State". Google Books.
29. "Ellis v. State". vLex.
30. "Machine Gunner Dies On Scaffold". San Jose News. April 19, 1928. p. 7.
31. "Ex-Boxer Dies On Scaffold". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. April 21, 1928. p. 7.
32. "Two Pay Supreme Penalty in Oregon". Berkeley Daily Gazette. April 29, 1928. p. 8.
33. "2 Killers Die in Chair". Indianapolis Times. April 23, 1928. p. 1.
34. "Wife Rides On Hearse To Guard Husband's Body". The Afro-American. May 5, 1928. p. 1.
35. "Shannon Hangs, Denying Guilt". San Jose News. May 4, 1928. p. 18.
36. "California Slayer Is Executed Today". Prescott Evening Courier. May 11, 1928. p. 1.
37. "Executed in Electric Chair". The Afro-American. June 2, 1928. p. 1.
38. "Man Goes to Death With Prayer on Lips". The Afro-American. June 9, 1928. p. 3.
39. "YARROW IS EXECUTED FOR MURDER OF GIRL; Robert Elliott Acts for First Time Since His Home Was Bombed". The New York Times. June 2, 1928.
40. "Negro From Houston Dies in Death Chair". The Victoria Advocate. June 1, 1928. p. 7.
41. "Hicks v. State". vLex.
42. "Negro Murderer Is Electrocuted". St. Petersburg Times. June 14, 1928. p. 1.
43. "Shelton v. State". Google Books.
44. "Condemned Murderer Gets Reprieve". The Afro-American. May 12, 1928. p. 10.
45. "News of Day Told Briefly". Times Daily. June 20, 1928. p. 6.
46. "WAGNER EXECUTED AS LAST PLEA FAILS; Slayer of Two State Troopers Put to Death After Governor Refuses a Reprieve". The New York Times. June 22, 1928.
47. "4 Chinese Hang for King Murder". Ellensburg Daily Record. June 22, 1928. p. 1.
48. "THREE SLAYERS DIE IN CHAIR AT CAPITAL; Youth of 19, One of Trio That Killed Policeman, Is Carried to Execution Chamber". The New York Times. June 23, 1928.
49. "Three Die in Chair". The Pittsburgh Press. June 29, 1928. p. 17.
50. "Two Slayers Go To Chair". The Pittsburgh Press. July 3, 1928. p. 1.
51. "Mate of Slain Wife Sees Murderer Die". The Pittsburgh Press. July 7, 1928. p. 9.
52. "Brown v. State". Google Books.
53. "Two Executed". The Evening Independent. July 13, 1928. p. 1.
54. "Seven Slayers Executed". The Evening Independent. July 13, 1928. p. 1.
55. "Two Mississippi Negroes Executed". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. July 14, 1928. p. 1.
56. "Nathan Desatnick, First Jew in Massachusetts to Die in Electric Chair". The Canadian Jewish Chronicle. July 20, 1928. p. 8.
57. "LEFKOWITZ EXECUTED FOR INSURANCE KILLING; Dies in Chair at Sing Sing--Wife and Daughter, 6, Bid Him Farewell". The New York Times. July 20, 1928.
58. "Lad Hobbles to Electric Chair". The Crawfordsville Review. July 31, 1928. p. 1.
59. "LEE PUT TO DEATH IN CHAIR; Slayer of Mrs. Selma L. Bennett Denies Guilt to the End". The New York Times. August 3, 1928.
60. "Fula Thompson Saved From Electric Chair". Lewiston Evening Journal. November 22, 1928. p. 6.
61. "Slayers Choke As Rope Fails to Kill". The Evening Independent. August 3, 1928. p. 13.
62. "Negro Dies in Chair For Slaying in 1927". Ludington Daily News. August 3, 1928. p. 2.
63. "THREE SLAYERS DIE IN SING SING'S CHAIR; Daniel Graham Jr., Ex-Policeman, Alex Kalinowski and George Appel Are Executed". The New York Times. August 10, 1928.
64. "Slayer of Wife Dies on Gallows". The Vancouver Sun. August 10, 1928. p. 31.
65. "W. Virginia Man to Be Hanged Tonight". The Washington Reporter. August 10, 1928. p. 5.
66. "Murderer's Smile Cut Short By His Hanging". The Oxnard Daily Courier. August 17, 1928. p. 1.
67. "Jax Negro Dies In Death Chair". St. Petersburg Times. August 29, 1928. p. 1.
68. "Colored Man Is Put to Death for Slaying Woman Teacher -Smokes Strong, Black Cigar". The Newburgh News. August 30, 1928. p. 1.
69. "Man Who Murdered Daughter Is Hanged". The Pittsburgh Press. August 31, 1928. p. 2.
70. "2 Die in Chair for Assaulting Schoolgirls". The Morning Leader. September 7, 1928. p. 16.
71. "Negro Pays Penalty for Murder of Girl". The Mount Airy News. October 4, 1928. p. 9.
72. "Two Slayers Die In Texas Electric Chair". The Border Cities Star. September 29, 1928. p. 49.
73. "Two Slayers Die in the Chair". The Washington Reporter. October 1, 1928. p. 1.
74. "Charles Shader Pays On Gallows". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. October 10, 1928. p. 1.
75. "HICKMAN HANGED AS HE COLLAPSES; Loses Nerve as He Pays the Penalty for the Murder of Marian Parker". The New York Times. October 20, 1928.
76. "Electrocuted For Murder of Wife". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. October 19, 1928. p. 6.
77. "Condemned, He Sings on Way to Scaffold". The Afro-American. November 17, 1928. p. 23.
78. "Murderer Pays With His Life". The Pittsburgh Press. November 26, 1928. p. 30.
79. "2 Slayers Face Death in Chair". Painesville Telegraph. November 30, 1928. p. 1.
80. "Slayer of Two Men Is Put to Death Today". The Newburgh News. December 3, 1928. p. 5.
81. "Wife Slayer Hanged". St. Joseph News-Press. December 7, 1928. p. 28.
82. "Percy Lofton is Hanged in Mississippi". Herald-Journal. December 16, 1928. p. 15.
83. "MORAN IS EXECUTED FOR POLICE MURDER; Gunman Who Shot Two Brooklyn Patrolman Goes Quietly to His Death". The New York Times. December 14, 1928.
84. "Sends Three to Chair". Lawrence Journal-World. December 15, 1928. p. 2.
85. "Georgia Slayer Pays With Life". The Evening Independent. December 19, 1928. p. 7.
86. "Slayer is Executed". The Pittsburgh Press. December 31, 1928. p. 1.

Preceded by 1927

List of people executed       in the United States in    1928

Succeeded by 1929