List of people executed in the United States in 1940

One hundred and twenty-four people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1940, eighty-four by electrocution, twenty-two by gas chamber, and eighteen by hanging. ^[1]

List of people executed in the United States in 1940

No.	Date of execution	Name	Age of person			Gender	Ethnicity	State	Method	Ref.
			At execution	At offense	Age difference
1	January 4, 1940	Anselmo Abreu	41	Unknown	Unknown	Male	Hispanic	New York	Electrocution	[2]
2	January 5, 1940	James Clifton Abdell	42	41	1		White	Virginia		[3]
3	January 10, 1940	Clyde Wills	27	26				Tennessee		[4]
4	January 11, 1940	Demetrius Gula	28		2			New York		[5]
5		Joseph S. Sacoda
6	January 18, 1940	Sidney Markman	22	20						[6]
7	January 19, 1940	James Charles Jr.	24	23	1		Black	Arkansas		[1]
8		J. Glenn Maxwell	49	48				North Carolina	Gas chamber	[7]
9		Clarence Rogers	26	25
10		Frank Dash Jr.	16	16	0			South Carolina	Electrocution	[1]
11	January 26, 1940	John Henry McCann	63	Unknown	Unknown			Virginia		[8]
12	January 29, 1940	Cleveland Holloway	36	Unknown	Unknown			Mississippi	Hanging	[9]
13		Benjamin Ginyard	27	27	0			Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[10]
14	February 9, 1940	James Fisher						Georgia		[1]
15		Joe Mathis
16	February 15, 1940	Franklin Wilbert Jenner	22	21	1		White	New York		[11]
17		John Kulka	24	22	2
18		Bertal Jerome Thingstead	29	27
19	February 16, 1940	Calvin Tucker	24	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Alabama		[12]
20		James Charles Williams	33	32	1		White	California	Gas chamber	[13]
21		Nathaniel Bryant	18	17			Black	North Carolina		[14]
22		William Young	23	22
23	February 26, 1940	William Kelly	33	31	2			Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[15]
24		Andrew Schurtz	47	47	0		White
25	March 1, 1940	Roy Mannon	35	34	1			Oklahoma		[16]
26	March 15, 1940	Lonnie Avery	32	26	6		Black	Alabama		[17]
27		Neil Anderson	23	21	2		White	California	Gas chamber	[18]
28		Alvin Kenton		Unknown	Unknown			Maryland	Hanging	[19]
29		Thomas Sanchez	40	Unknown	Unknown		Hispanic
30		Robert Williams	20	18	2		Black	North Carolina	Gas chamber	[1]
31		A.C. Mobley	35	33				Tennessee	Electrocution
32	March 18, 1940	James Warner Rickman	22	20			White	Texas		[20]
33	March 22, 1940	William L. Mims	38	36			Black	Georgia		[1]
34	March 28, 1940	Walter Dworecki	43	42	1		White	New Jersey		[21]
35	March 29, 1940	Mack Jackson	28	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Alabama		[22]
36		David Williams	22	Unknown	Unknown
37		Herman Bell	23	22	1
38		Press Bibbs	20	18	2			South Carolina		[23]
39	March 31, 1940	Bluitt Hampton	28	27	1			Texas		[1]
40	April 5, 1940	Zeb Page	29	29	0			North Carolina	Gas chamber
41	April 12, 1940	Otis Manning	27	Unknown	Unknown			Arkansas	Electrocution
42		Willie Bradshaw	65	63	2			Virginia		[24]
43	April 19, 1940	Howard Poe	25	23				Illinois		[25]
44		Robert Ballard Walker		24	1		White	Texas		[26]
45		Stanley Simon Lantzer	38	36	2			Wyoming	Gas chamber	[27]
46	April 25, 1940	Gus Schweinberger	33	32	1			New York	Electrocution	[28]
47	April 26, 1940	Wilmer Davis	25	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Virginia		[29]
48	April 28, 1940	Webster Lyons	29	27	2			Texas		[30]
49		Robert Manning	20	18
50	April 29, 1940	Vincent Cots Jr.	32	31	1		White	Connecticut		[31]
51		Ira Allen Weaver	36	35
52	May 3, 1940	Judge Ragland	34	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Alabama		[32]
53	May 7, 1940	Walter H. Rhodes	32	28	4		White	Iowa	Hanging	[33]
54	May 10, 1940	Otis Harrell	23	23	0		Black	Maryland		[34]
55		William T. Sorrell	28	28
56	May 17, 1940	Virgilio Spinelli	60	58	2		White	California	Gas chamber	[35]
57		Robert Brown	26	25	1		Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
58		Victor Nukowski	24	23			White	Illinois		[36]
59		Frank Michalowski	25	24
60	May 24, 1940	David McGuire		23	2		Black	Alabama		[1]
61		Simon Gibson	23	Unknown	Unknown			North Carolina	Gas chamber	[37]
62	May 27, 1940	Mateo Quinones	44	Unknown	Unknown		Asian	Hawaii Territory	Hanging	[1]
63	May 28, 1940	Wilson Henry Boyd		44	0		Black	Nevada	Gas chamber	[38]
64	June 5, 1940	Clarence Parker	29	27	2			Florida	Electrocution	[39]
65	June 7, 1940	Burton Franks	22	21	1	White	Texas	[40]
66	June 9, 1940	Placido Handy	36	30	6	Hispanic		[41]
67	June 14, 1940	William C. Williams	31		1	White	Alabama	[42]
68		Charlie Hopkins	63	62		Black	North Carolina	Gas chamber	[43]
69		Will Lowry	18	18	0		South Carolina	Electrocution	[1]
70	June 28, 1940	Antoine McClain	Unknown	Unknown	2		Louisiana	Hanging	[44]
71		Alexander Williams	33	33	0		Maryland		[45]
72		Lee Flynn	44	43	1	White	North Carolina	Gas chamber	[46]
73		Byzantine Hartman	29	29	0		West Virginia	Hanging	[47]
74	July 10, 1940	Monroe Bohannon	32	31	1	Black	Ohio	Electrocution	[48]
75	July 11, 1940	Oliver R. Alridge	47	46			New York		[49]
76		James Pryor	23	22
77	July 15, 1940	George Howell	22	21			Pennsylvania		[50]
78	July 19, 1940	Robert Claude Perry	71	70		White	California	Gas chamber	[51]
79		Honore Migues	31	28	3		Louisiana	Hanging	[52]
80	July 26, 1940	Henry Phillips	43	41	2	Black	Kentucky	Electrocution	[53]
81		Claude Edward Cline	46	46	0	White	Oregon	Gas chamber	[54]
82	July 27, 1940	Frank Lansing	26	26		Black	South Carolina	Electrocution	[1]
83	July 29, 1940	Herbert Willard Goddard Jr.	30	29	1	White	Florida		[55]
84	August 1, 1940	Norman James Wheelock	27	26			New York		[56]
85	August 9, 1940	Willie James Brandon	23	22		Black	Alabama		[57]
86		Robert Grey Burgunder Jr.				White	Arizona	Gas chamber	[58]
87	August 16, 1940	Everett Gilbert Parman	29	27	2		California		[59]
88		Curtis Barkley	34	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
89		Oscar Fields	24	Unknown	Unknown
90		Charles Peyton	Unknown	Unknown	2		Louisiana	Hanging
91	August 23, 1940	Rodney J. Greig	23	21		White	California	Gas chamber	[60]
92		Eddie Brown	29	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[61]
93		Charles Josey	20	20	0
94	August 30, 1940	Ernest Houston		19	1		Kentucky		[62]
95		Florence L. Murphy	26	25			Texas		[63]
96	September 4, 1940	William Henry Nelson	46	45		White	Tennessee		[64]
97		James Goodin	21	20		Black
98	September 6, 1940	George Abney	38	38	0		South Carolina		[65]
99		Edward L. Bouchard	46	45	1	White	Washington	Hanging	[66]
100	September 12, 1940	Frank Blazek	30	29			New York	Electrocution	[67]
101		Benjamin Ertel	25	22	3
102	September 13, 1940	Arthur Collick	28	28	0	Black	Maryland	Hanging	[68]
103	September 20, 1940	Robert Leslie West	25	23	2	White	Missouri	Gas chamber	[69]
104		Chester Jackson	30	28		Black
105	October 4, 1940	Fred Anderson	19	16	3		Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
106		Jack C. Marable	40	39	1	White	Washington	Hanging	[70]
107	October 11, 1940	Hilton Fortenberry	30	29		Black	Mississippi		[71]
108		Willie May Bragg	28	28	0			Electrocution
109	October 18, 1940	Henry William Hicks	18	18			Georgia		[1]
110		Charles Clemons	40	Unknown	Unknown		Mississippi		[72]
111		William Gordon	31	Unknown	Unknown
112	October 23, 1940	Eugene Harris	24	23	1		Ohio		[73]
113	October 25, 1940	R.L. Jones	Unknown	Unknown	2		Louisiana	Hanging	[74]
114	November 8, 1940	John William Sutton	22	22	0		Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
115	November 11, 1940	Ivory Lee Williams	18	17	1		Florida		[75]
116	November 15, 1940	Jack Gulley	25	Unknown	Unknown		Arkansas		[1]
117		Roger William Cunningham	35	33	2	White	Oklahoma		[76]
118	December 6, 1940	Zedekiel Smith	29	28	1	Black	North Carolina	Gas chamber	[1]
119		Paul Tross	41	41	0		West Virginia	Hanging	[77]
120	December 13, 1940	James Dillard	30	Unknown	Unknown		Arkansas	Electrocution	[1]
121		Robert Lee Brannon	39	29	10		Georgia
122		Buddie Lawrence	28	28	0
123		Robert Schroeder	26	26		White	Illinois		[78]
124	December 27, 1940	Jennings Waddell	34	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Georgia		[1]

Demographics

Gender
Male	124	100%
Female	0	0%
Ethnicity
Black	76	61%
White	44	35%
Hispanic	3	2%
Asian	1	1%
State
Georgia	14	11%
New York	13	10%
North Carolina	10	8%
Alabama	9	7%
Texas	8	6%
California	6	5%
Maryland	6	5%
Mississippi	5	4%
South Carolina	5	4%
Arkansas	4	3%
Illinois	4	3%
Louisiana	4	3%
Pennsylvania	4	3%
Tennessee	4	3%
Virginia	4	3%
Florida	3	2%
Connecticut	2	2%
Kentucky	2	2%
Missouri	2	2%
Ohio	2	2%
Oklahoma	2	2%
Washington	2	2%
West Virginia	2	2%
Arizona	1	1%
Hawaii Territory	1	1%
Iowa	1	1%
Nevada	1	1%
New Jersey	1	1%
Oregon	1	1%
Wyoming	1	1%
Method
Electrocution	84	68%
Gas chamber	22	18%
Hanging	18	15%
Month
January	13	10%
February	11	9%
March	15	12%
April	12	10%
May	12	10%
June	10	8%
July	10	8%
August	12	10%
September	9	7%
October	9	7%
November	4	3%
December	7	6%
Age
Unknown	3	2%
10–19	6	5%
20–29	64	52%
30–39	29	23%
40–49	17	23%
50–59	0	0%
60–69	4	3%
70–79	1	1%
Total	124	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1941	123
1940	124
1939	162
Total	409

References

1. "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
2. "'Women Did This,' Says 'Chair' Victim". Schenectady Gazette. January 5, 1940. p. 1.
3. "Man Who Asphyxiated Wife Pays Penalty". The Tuscaloosa News. January 5, 1940. p. 2.
4. "Read Bible, He Urges". The Tuscaloosa News. January 10, 1940. p. 1.
5. "KIDNAPPERS OF FRIED DIE IN ELECTRIC CHAIR; Sacoda and Gula First to Pay Penalty Under New Law". The New York Times. January 12, 1940.
6. "Boro Slayer Goes Calmly to Chair After Boasting He Could 'Take It'". Brooklyn Eagle via newspapers.com. January 19, 1940. p. 5.
7. "Slayers Executed". St. Petersburg Times. January 20, 1940. p. 5.
8. "McCann v. Commonwealth". vLex.
9. "Holloway v. State". vLex.
10. "Pittsburgh Negro is Executed for Slaying". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. January 29, 1940. p. 1.
11. "3 Men Put to Death in Chair in 17 Minutes". The Meriden Daily Journal. February 16, 1940. p. 1.
12. "Dixon Regrets Death Powers". The Tuscaloosa News. February 16, 1940. p. 1.
13. "People v. Williams". Stanford Law School.
14. "N. C. Executes Two Negroes in Killing". Herald-Journal. February 17, 1940. p. 1.
15. "Two Die In Electric Chair After Third Man Commits Suicide". The Daily Times. February 26, 1940. p. 1.
16. "Roy Mannon Denies Guilt as He Dies in Electric Chair". The Southeast Missourian. March 1, 1940. p. 3.
17. "Avery v. State". vLex.
18. "Reprieve Averts Gas Death". San Jose News. March 15, 1940. p. 1.
19. "Pair of Torturers Confess Guilt, Die". The Spokesman-Review. March 16, 1940. p. 14.
20. "Texas Killer Dies In Electric Chair". The Telegraph-Herald. March 18, 1940. p. 7.
21. "PASTOR GOES TO CHAIR IN DAUGHTER'S DEATH; Dworecki First Clergyman to Be Executed in Jersey". The New York Times. March 29, 1940.
22. "Three Negroes Pay Lives For Crimes". The Tuscaloosa News. March 29, 1940. p. 1.
23. "M'Cormick Negro to Die in Chair at Prison Today". Herald-Journal. March 29, 1940. p. 3.
24. "Mercy Fight Fails; Willie Bradshaw Calm at End". The Afro-American. April 27, 1940. p. 9.
25. "Census Man Arrives Just in Nick of Time". The Portsmouth Times. April 20, 1940. p. 1.
26. "Electrocuted in Texas". St. Joseph News-Press. April 19, 1940. p. 5.
27. "Wyoming Slayer Pays For Crime". Prescott Evening Courier. April 19, 1940. p. 4.
28. "Nazi Subject Dies in Chair For Murder". Schenectady Gazette. April 26, 1940. p. 1.
29. "Davis Electrocuted For Murder of Wife". The Free-Lance Star. April 26, 1940. p. 2.
30. "Two Negroes Executed". Lewiston Morning Tribune. April 28, 1940. p. 6.
31. "Cots And Weaver To Be Put To Death Tonight". Meriden Record. April 30, 1940. p. 4.
32. "Four Deaths Postponed". The Tuscaloosa News. February 19, 1940. p. 1.
33. "Iowa Man is Hanged". St. Joseph News-Press. May 7, 1940. p. 3.
34. "2 Smith Killers Walk Last Mile". The Afro-American. May 18, 1940. p. 1.
35. "Slayer Executed". The Evening Independent. May 18, 1940. p. 9.
36. "Two Slayers Die in Chair". The Telegraph-Herald. May 17, 1940. p. 2.
37. "State v. Gibson". vLex.
38. "Negro Pays Penalty in Lethal Gas Trap". The Spokesman-Review. May 29, 1940. p. 4.
39. "Parker v. State". CaseMine.
40. "Funeral Services For Burton Franks Slated Saturday". The Bonham Daily Favorite. June 7, 1940. p. 2.
41. "Handy v. State". vLex.
42. "Willie Williams Is Denied Clemency". The Tuscaloosa News. June 12, 1940. p. 2.
43. "Forest City Negro Scheduled to Be Executed April 5". Herald-Journal. March 25, 1940. p. 5.
44. "First Execution in Years is Set". Morning World via newspapers.com. June 16, 1940. p. 3.
45. "Attack Try Dooms Man". The Afro-American. May 28, 1940. p. 1.
46. "State v. Flynn". vLex.
47. "Man Scheduled To Be Hanged Tonight Shows But Little Concern". The Daily Times. June 28, 1940. p. 9.
48. "Negro Executed in Holdup Death". The Independent via newspapers.com. July 11, 1940. p. 1.
49. "New York Executes 2". The Pittsburgh Press. July 12, 1940. p. 10.
50. "Youth Dies in Chair For Killing Officer". The Pittsburgh Press. July 15, 1940. p. 5.
51. "Old Man Executed". Herald-Journal. July 20, 1940. p. 2.
52. "Louisiana Hangs Slayer of Woman". Herald-Journal. July 21, 1940. p. 1.
53. "Negro Electrocuted". Kentucky New Era. July 26, 1940. p. 4.
54. "Fumes Snuff Life Of Prospector Cline". Eugene Register-Guard. July 26, 1940. p. 1.
55. "Slayer Hails End of Trail". The Windsor Daily Star. July 29, 1940. p. 20.
56. "Girl's Slayer Pays Penalty". Warsaw Union. August 3, 1940. p. 8.
57. "Negro Electrocuted". The Tuscaloosa News. August 9, 1940. p. 2.
58. "Youth Admits Two Killings; Goes to Death". Youngstown Vindicator. August 9, 1940. p. 13.
59. "Everett Parman execution notice". Prescott Evening Courier. August 16, 1940. p. 4.
60. "Slayer, Dying, Snatches Mask From His Eyes". St. Petersburg Times. August 24, 1940. p. 3.
61. "Two Negroes Pay Penalty In Chair". Herald-Journal. August 23, 1940. p. 12.
62. "Governor Studies Negro Clemency Plea". Kentucky New Era. August 22, 1940. p. 1.
63. "Texas News Briefs". The Victoria Advocate. August 29, 1940. p. 3.
64. "Two Die in Tenn. Chair". Middlesboro Daily News. September 4, 1940. p. 1.
65. "Negro Tenant Held For Rearden Death". The Newberry Observer. March 26, 1940. p. 13.
66. "Execution is First Ordered This Year". Spokane Daily Chronicle. September 3, 1940. p. 6.
67. "2 KILLERS GO TO CHAIR; Slayers of Bronx Girl and City Detective Put to Death". The New York Times. September 13, 1940.
68. "Gallows Fails to End Calm of Shore Slayer". The Afro-American. September 21, 1940. p. 24.
69. "St. Louis Slayer of Ex-Sweetheart Dies in Gas Vault". St. Louis Globe-Democrat via newspapers.com. September 20, 1940. p. 1.
70. "State Executes First Man Under Lindbergh Law". Ellensburg Daily Record. October 4, 1940. p. 1.
71. "Portable "Chair" Gets First Job". St. Petersburg Times. October 11, 1940. p. 48.
72. "Clemons v. State". CourtListener.
73. "Alabama Fugitive Electrocuted In Ohio". The Tuscaloosa News. October 24, 1940. p. 3.
74. "State v. Jones". CaseMine.
75. "Death Warrant Signed". St. Petersburg Times. November 4, 1940. p. 15.
76. "Wife-Slayer Electrocuted". Kentucky New Era. November 15, 1940. p. 2.
77. "Hang Negro In Assault Case". Warsaw Union. December 6, 1940. p. 9.
78. "Bludgeoner of Child Dies on Friday, 13th". Youngstown Vindicator. December 13, 1940. p. 6.

Preceded by 1939

List of people executed       in the United States in    1940

Succeeded by 1941