One hundred and fifty-seven people, one hundred and fifty-five male and two female, were executed in the United States in 1947, 113 by electrocution, thirty-six by gas chamber, and eight by hanging. [1]
The state of Massachusetts would conduct their last executions this year before abolishing the death penalty in 1984.
No. | Date of execution | Name | Age of person | Gender | Ethnicity | State | Method | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
At execution | At offense | Age difference | ||||||||
1 | January 2, 1947 | Ronald Joseph Watson | 21 | 20 | 1 | Male | White | Vermont | Electrocution | [2] |
2 | January 3, 1947 | Cleve Covington | 26 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | South Carolina | [1] | ||
3 | Amon J. Gusler | 52 | 52 | 0 | White | Virginia | [3] | |||
4 | William Gordon | 20 | 20 | West Virginia | Hanging | [4] | ||||
5 | January 7, 1947 | John Henry Clark | 27 | 26 | 1 | Black | Washington | [1] | ||
6 | January 9, 1947 | Van Lee Ramsey | 36 | 35 | Missouri | Gas chamber | [5] | |||
7 | January 10, 1947 | Clifton Holmes | 26 | Unknown | Unknown | Arkansas | Electrocution | [1] | ||
8 | Paul Maynard Skaug | 25 | 23 | 2 | White | Nevada | Gas chamber | [6] | ||
9 | January 17, 1947 | Albert Hodges | 27 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Arkansas | Electrocution | [7] | |
10 | Charles Lee Carmen | 20 | 20 | 0 | Maryland | Hanging | [8] | |||
11 | Rose Marie Stinette | 49 | Unknown | Unknown | Female | South Carolina | Electrocution | [9] | ||
12 | January 24, 1947 | Jeff Henley Jr. | 20 | 19 | 1 | Male | Arkansas | [10] | ||
13 | Marshall Perkins | 60 | 59 | Missouri | Gas chamber | [11] | ||||
14 | January 30, 1947 | Harlan Broyles | 32 | 30 | 2 | White | Oklahoma | Electrocution | [12] | |
15 | February 7, 1947 | John Thomas Honeycutt | 33 | 32 | 1 | California | Gas chamber | [13] | ||
16 | February 8, 1947 | Arthur Brown Jr. | 20 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Georgia | Electrocution | [14] | |
17 | Morris Dorsey | 23 | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
18 | February 14, 1947 | Robert Jordon | 21 | Unknown | Unknown | South Carolina | [1] | |||
19 | February 24, 1947 | Peter J. Ewell Jr. | 24 | 23 | 1 | Pennsylvania | [15] | |||
20 | Allen Wesley Black | 28 | 28 | 0 | White | |||||
21 | February 26, 1947 | Thomas Clayton Hilton | 30 | 29 | 1 | California | Gas chamber | [16] | ||
22 | March 3, 1947 | Samuel H. Jones | 42 | 41 | Black | Pennsylvania | Electrocution | [17] | ||
23 | March 6, 1947 | Edward Kahkoska | 22 | 21 | White | New York | [18] | |||
24 | Edward Koberski | 23 | 22 | |||||||
25 | Henry Paul Suckow Jr. | 25 | 24 | |||||||
26 | March 14, 1947 | Booker T. Brooks | 31 | 23 | 8 | Black | Alabama | [1] | ||
27 | Otis Ragland | Unknown | Unknown | 0 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [19] | |||
28 | March 17, 1947 | Wilbur Paul Patterson | 24 | 21 | 3 | White | Florida | Electrocution | [20] | |
29 | March 21, 1947 | Alger Simmons | 32 | 29 | Black | California | Gas chamber | [21] | ||
30 | L. D. Henderson | 21 | Unknown | Unknown | Texas | Electrocution | [1] | |||
31 | March 28, 1947 | Benny Harris Montgomery | 23 | 23 | 0 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [22] | ||
32 | April 1, 1947 | Phillmond H. Zachary Jr. | 27 | 26 | 1 | Texas | Electrocution | [1] | ||
33 | April 2, 1947 | Russell Eugene Koons | 23 | 22 | White | Ohio | [23] | |||
34 | April 4, 1947 | Richard Horton | 24 | 23 | Black | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [1] | ||
35 | April 8, 1947 | George Sidney Sitts | 33 | 32 | White | South Dakota | Electrocution | [24] | ||
36 | April 11, 1947 | Louise M. Peete | 66 | 63 | 3 | Female | California | Gas chamber | [25] | |
37 | Amos Batt | 19 | 19 | 0 | Male | Black | Louisiana | Electrocution | [1] | |
38 | Eunice Martin | Unknown | Unknown | 1 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [26] | |||
39 | Albert Eugene Dubois | 37 | 36 | White | Tennessee | Electrocution | [1] | |||
40 | April 16, 1947 | Fred Womack Jr. | 22 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Ohio | |||
41 | April 17, 1947 | Arthur Johnson | 21 | 20 | 1 | New York | [27] | |||
42 | William Washington | 28 | 27 | |||||||
43 | April 18, 1947 | Homer Reginald Knapp | 38 | 38 | 0 | White | Georgia | [1] | ||
44 | Talmadge Haggins | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Black | South Carolina | ||||
45 | April 21, 1947 | Lewis Green | 19 | 18 | 1 | Florida | ||||
46 | April 25, 1947 | Willis Donald Barnes | 29 | 27 | 2 | White | Georgia | |||
47 | Lauren Porter | 38 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | |||||
48 | Walton Ratcliff | 25 | 24 | 1 | Mississippi | [28] | ||||
49 | Freddie Jones | 19 | Unknown | Unknown | South Carolina | [1] | ||||
50 | April 28, 1947 | David H. Brooks | 23 | 21 | 2 | Pennsylvania | [29] | |||
51 | Albert Wooding | |||||||||
52 | May 2, 1947 | Quiller Daniel | 30 | 29 | 1 | Georgia | [30] | |||
53 | Webber Atwood | 24 | 20 | 4 | White | Louisiana | [31] | |||
54 | John Dickerson | 36 | 35 | 1 | Black | South Carolina | [1] | |||
55 | Huey Wilson | 37 | 36 | Texas | ||||||
56 | May 7, 1947 | Alonzo Ellis Jones | 27 | 26 | White | Louisiana | [32] | |||
57 | May 9, 1947 | Willie Francis | 18 | 15 | 3 | Black | [33] | |||
58 | Philip R. Bellino | 30 | 28 | 2 | White | Massachusetts | [34] | |||
59 | Edward F. Gertson | 34 | 32 | |||||||
60 | May 16, 1947 | Vollie Bill Bates | 20 | 15 | 5 | Arkansas | [35] | |||
61 | Donnie Mitchell | 49 | 48 | 1 | Black | Louisiana | [36] | |||
62 | May 23, 1947 | Israel Garrett | 45 | 43 | 2 | Alabama | [37] | |||
63 | John Henry Brown | 49 | 46 | Colorado | Gas chamber | [1] | ||||
64 | Ben Frank McLeod | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | North Carolina | |||||
65 | Ephraim Thomas | 27 | Unknown | Unknown | Virginia | Electrocution | [38] | |||
66 | May 29, 1947 | Oscar E. Allen | 45 | 44 | 1 | Texas | [39] | |||
67 | June 2, 1947 | Louis Jones | 29 | 27 | 2 | [1] | ||||
68 | June 5, 1947 | Nathaniel Freeman | 25 | 24 | 1 | Ohio | [40] | |||
69 | June 6, 1947 | Ernest Nathaniel Dunn | 38 | 37 | White | California | Gas chamber | [41] | ||
70 | James Marvin Farmer | 20 | 19 | Black | North Carolina | [1] | ||||
71 | Albert Sanders | 21 | 20 | |||||||
72 | June 7, 1947 | William Alfred Norris | 23 | 22 | Texas | Electrocution | [42] | |||
73 | June 13, 1947 | Louis Young | 47 | 45 | 2 | New Mexico | [1] | |||
74 | June 16, 1947 | Leroy Henderson | 36 | Unknown | Unknown | Florida | [43] | |||
75 | June 17, 1947 | James Brown | 25 | 25 | 0 | Georgia | [44] | |||
76 | June 19, 1947 | John Hodge Jr. | 28 | 27 | 1 | Tennessee | [45] | |||
77 | June 20, 1947 | Harold O. Gillette | 31 | 30 | White | Colorado | Gas chamber | [46] | ||
78 | Charles Crosby | 37 | 36 | Black | Illinois | Electrocution | [1] | |||
79 | William A. Davis | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | South Carolina | |||||
80 | June 26, 1947 | Charlie Allen | 37 | 36 | 1 | Texas | ||||
81 | June 27, 1947 | William Edward Copper | 21 | 20 | Maryland | Hanging | [47] | |||
82 | Moses Artis | 42 | 41 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [48] | ||||
83 | Roy Kirksey | 26 | 24 | 2 | ||||||
84 | Woodrow Brown | 25 | 1 | |||||||
85 | June 30, 1947 | Herbert Lee Reddick | 17 | 16 | Georgia | Electrocution | [1] | |||
86 | July 3, 1947 | Ward Beecher Caraway | 23 | 22 | New York | [49] | ||||
87 | July 10, 1947 | Salvatore DiCristofaro | 34 | 33 | White | [50] | ||||
88 | Edward Jones | 22 | 20 | 2 | Black | |||||
89 | Arnold Simms | 23 | 21 | |||||||
90 | William J. Thomas | 20 | 18 | |||||||
91 | July 11, 1947 | Earl L. Tunget | 23 | 21 | White | Kentucky | [51] | |||
92 | Hillery Ledet | 20 | 18 | Black | Louisiana | [52] | ||||
93 | Henry Scott | 25 | 25 | 0 | ||||||
94 | J. C. Sims | 33 | 18 | South Carolina | [53] | |||||
95 | July 18, 1947 | Jessie Perkins | 41 | Unknown | Unknown | Louisiana | [54] | |||
96 | William Davis | 43 | 42 | 1 | Virginia | [55] | ||||
97 | July 23, 1947 | James Lewis Jr. | 15 | 14 | Mississippi | [56] | ||||
98 | Charles Trudell | 16 | 15 | |||||||
99 | July 25, 1947 | Bert Junior Grant | 18 | 18 | 0 | South Carolina | [57] | |||
100 | July 29, 1947 | George F. Gumtow | 21 | 21 | White | Kansas | Hanging | [58] | ||
101 | Cecil Tate | 22 | 22 | |||||||
102 | July 30, 1947 | Clarence Dampier | 21 | 1 | Black | Mississippi | Electrocution | [59] | ||
103 | August 1, 1947 | Ebenezer Scott | 27 | Unknown | Unknown | Georgia | [60] | |||
104 | Robert Lee Stanford | 25 | 23 | 2 | ||||||
105 | Ross Jerome Abbott | 24 | 1 | White | Maryland | Hanging | [61] | |||
106 | Weldon Jones Jr. | 18 | 16 | 2 | Black | |||||
107 | William Pooler | 24 | 24 | 0 | South Carolina | Electrocution | [62] | |||
108 | August 4, 1947 | Joe Ferguson | 42 | 41 | 1 | Florida | [63] | |||
109 | James Andrew Maxwell | 31 | 30 | |||||||
110 | Tom Melton | 32 | 31 | |||||||
111 | August 8, 1947 | Cubie Lee Johnson | 24 | 23 | Arkansas | [64] | ||||
112 | Lawrence William Dukes | 40 | 40 | 0 | ||||||
113 | August 9, 1947 | Terrell Loughridge | 29 | 27 | 2 | White | Georgia | [65] | ||
114 | August 11, 1947 | Fred Jackson | 18 | 16 | Black | Tennessee | [66] | |||
115 | August 13, 1947 | Roosevelt Moore | 26 | Unknown | Unknown | Georgia | [1] | |||
116 | August 15, 1947 | Leonard Pringle | 25 | 25 | 0 | South Carolina | ||||
117 | Ernest Willis | Unknown | Unknown | |||||||
118 | August 21, 1947 | Webster Daniel | 37 | Unknown | Unknown | New York | ||||
119 | August 29, 1947 | Joe Caetano | 35 | 33 | 2 | White | California | Gas chamber | [67] | |
120 | September 5, 1947 | Arthur Adams | 37 | 36 | 1 | Black | Texas | Electrocution | [68] | |
121 | September 12, 1947 | Elijah Pearson | 46 | 45 | [69] | |||||
122 | September 26, 1947 | Floyd P. Cochran | 36 | 34 | 2 | Missouri | Gas chamber | [70] | ||
123 | September 29, 1947 | Joshua Elwood Beatty | 47 | 46 | 1 | White | Pennsylvania | Electrocution | [71] | |
124 | October 3, 1947 | Richard McCain | 21 | 20 | Black | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [72] | ||
125 | Jethro Lampkin | 20 | 19 | |||||||
126 | Robert Messer | 21 | 21 | 0 | White | |||||
127 | Earl Leonard O'Dear | 23 | 23 | |||||||
128 | Willie Cherry | 26 | 25 | 1 | Black | |||||
129 | October 5, 1947 | Raymond Davis | 17 | 16 | Texas | Electrocution | [73] | |||
130 | October 6, 1947 | Jim Owen | 43 | 43 | 0 | Georgia | [1] | |||
131 | William Paul Byron | 39 | 38 | 1 | White | Pennsylvania | [74] | |||
132 | Charles Frederick Moyer | 25 | 24 | |||||||
133 | October 10, 1947 | Sweetie Bryant Jr. | 29 | 28 | Black | Georgia | [75] | |||
134 | Oscar L. Ford | 21 | 20 | [1] | ||||||
135 | Oscar Douglas | 40 | 39 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | |||||
136 | October 17, 1947 | Buford Russell Morton | 30 | 29 | Virginia | Electrocution | [76] | |||
137 | October 20, 1947 | Michael Bubna | 37 | 35 | 2 | White | Pennsylvania | [77] | ||
138 | October 24, 1947 | Ernest Gaither Jr. | 23 | 23 | 0 | Black | Illinois | [78] | ||
139 | Raymond Laurence | 29 | 28 | 1 | Virginia | [79] | ||||
140 | October 27, 1947 | Lawrence Brown | 21 | 20 | Pennsylvania | [1] | ||||
141 | October 31, 1947 | Alfred Lorenzo Hawkins | 24 | Unknown | Unknown | District of Columbia | ||||
142 | J. C. Brooks | 29 | 28 | 1 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [80] | |||
143 | Grady Brown | 27 | 27 | 0 | ||||||
144 | Thurman Jefferson Munn | 25 | 25 | |||||||
145 | Lester Stanley | 28 | 27 | 1 | ||||||
146 | November 14, 1947 | Francis Paul Barnes | 22 | 20 | 2 | White | California | [81] | ||
147 | Marvin Claude Bell | 25 | 24 | 1 | North Carolina | [82] | ||||
148 | Ralph Vernon Litteral | 35 | 34 | |||||||
149 | Willie Little | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Black | |||||
150 | November 18, 1947 | Nick Morakis | 53 | 51 | 2 | White | Georgia | Electrocution | [1] | |
151 | November 28, 1947 | Robert Britton | 23 | 22 | 1 | Black | Ohio | [83] | ||
152 | James Griffin Jr. | 27 | 26 | |||||||
153 | December 4, 1947 | Enix Bussey | 32 | 30 | 2 | New York | [84] | |||
154 | December 5, 1947 | Frank Campbell | 25 | Unknown | Unknown | Mississippi | [85] | |||
155 | December 8, 1947 | William W. Chavis | 22 | 21 | 1 | Pennsylvania | [86] | |||
156 | December 12, 1947 | Roosevelt Miller | South Carolina | [1] | ||||||
157 | December 18, 1947 | Walter Lee Boyd | 26 | 25 | Mississippi | [87] |
Gender | ||
---|---|---|
Male | 155 | 99% |
Female | 2 | 1% |
Ethnicity | ||
Black | 115 | 73% |
White | 42 | 27% |
State | ||
North Carolina | 23 | 15% |
Georgia | 16 | 10% |
South Carolina | 13 | 8% |
New York | 12 | 8% |
Pennsylvania | 11 | 7% |
Texas | 10 | 6% |
Louisiana | 8 | 5% |
California | 7 | 4% |
Arkansas | 6 | 4% |
Florida | 6 | 4% |
Mississippi | 6 | 4% |
Ohio | 5 | 3% |
Virginia | 5 | 3% |
Maryland | 4 | 3% |
Missouri | 3 | 2% |
Tennessee | 3 | 2% |
Alabama | 2 | 1% |
Colorado | 2 | 1% |
Illinois | 2 | 1% |
Kansas | 2 | 1% |
Massachusetts | 2 | 1% |
District of Columbia | 1 | 1% |
Kentucky | 1 | 1% |
Nevada | 1 | 1% |
New Mexico | 1 | 1% |
Oklahoma | 1 | 1% |
South Dakota | 1 | 1% |
Vermont | 1 | 1% |
Washington | 1 | 1% |
West Virginia | 1 | 1% |
Method | ||
Electrocution | 113 | 72% |
Gas chamber | 36 | 23% |
Hanging | 8 | 5% |
Month | ||
January | 14 | 9% |
February | 7 | 4% |
March | 10 | 6% |
April | 20 | 13% |
May | 15 | 10% |
June | 19 | 12% |
July | 17 | 11% |
August | 17 | 11% |
September | 4 | 3% |
October | 22 | 14% |
November | 7 | 4% |
December | 5 | 3% |
Age | ||
Unknown | 6 | 4% |
10–19 | 11 | 7% |
20–29 | 87 | 55% |
30–39 | 33 | 21% |
40–49 | 16 | 10% |
50–59 | 2 | 1% |
60–69 | 2 | 1% |
Total | 157 | 100% |
Number of executions | |
---|---|
1948 | 117 |
1947 | 157 |
1946 | 129 |
Total | 403 |
Preceded by 1946 | List of people executed in the United States in 1947 | Succeeded by 1948 |