List of people executed in the United States in 1947

One hundred and fifty-eighty people, one hundred and fifty-six male and two female, were executed in the United States in 1947, 113 by electrocution, thirty-six by gas chamber, and nine by hanging. ^[1]

Massachusetts carried out its last executions this year before abolishing the death penalty in 1984. South Dakota conducted its first and only execution by electrocution, that of George Sitts. Sitts was also the first person to be executed in South Dakota since 1913.

List of people executed in the United States in 1947

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 22, 1947	Garlon Mickles	23	22				U.S. military	Hanging	[28]
47	April 25, 1947	Willis Donald Barnes	29	27	2		White	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
48		Lauren Porter	38	Unknown	Unknown		Black
49		Walton Ratcliff	25	24	1			Mississippi		[29]
50		Freddie Jones	19	Unknown	Unknown			South Carolina		[1]
51	April 28, 1947	David H. Brooks	23	21	2			Pennsylvania		[30]
52		Albert Wooding
53	May 2, 1947	Quiller Daniel	30	29	1			Georgia		[31]
54		Webber Atwood	24	20	4		White	Louisiana		[32]
55		John Dickerson	36	35	1		Black	South Carolina		[1]
56		Huey Wilson	37	36				Texas
57	May 7, 1947	Alonzo Ellis Jones	27	26			White	Louisiana		[33]
58	May 9, 1947	Willie Francis	18	15	3		Black			[34]
59		Philip R. Bellino	30	28	2		White	Massachusetts		[35]
60		Edward F. Gertson	34	32
61	May 16, 1947	Vollie Bill Bates	20	19	1			Arkansas		[36]
62		Donnie Mitchell	49	48	1		Black	Louisiana		[37]
63	May 23, 1947	Israel Garrett	45	43	2			Alabama		[38]
64		John Henry Brown	49	46				Colorado	Gas chamber	[1]
65		Ben Frank McLeod	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown			North Carolina
66		Ephraim Thomas	27	Unknown	Unknown			Virginia	Electrocution	[39]
67	May 29, 1947	Oscar E. Allen	45	44	1			Texas		[40]
68	June 2, 1947	Louis Jones	29	27	2					[1]
69	June 5, 1947	Nathaniel Freeman	25	24	1			Ohio		[41]
70	June 6, 1947	Ernest Nathaniel Dunn	38	37			White	California	Gas chamber	[42]
71		James Marvin Farmer	20	19			Black	North Carolina		[1]
72		Albert Sanders	21	20
73	June 7, 1947	William Alfred Norris	23	22				Texas	Electrocution	[43]
74	June 13, 1947	Louis Young	47	45	2			New Mexico		[1]
75	June 16, 1947	Leroy Henderson	36	Unknown	Unknown			Florida		[44]
76	June 17, 1947	James Brown	25	25	0			Georgia		[45]
77	June 19, 1947	John Hodge Jr.	28	27	1			Tennessee		[46]
78	June 20, 1947	Harold O. Gillette	31	30			White	Colorado	Gas chamber	[47]
79		Charles Crosby	37	36			Black	Illinois	Electrocution	[1]
80		William A. Davis	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown			South Carolina
81	June 26, 1947	Charlie Allen	37	36	1			Texas
82	June 27, 1947	William Edward Copper	21	20				Maryland	Hanging	[48]
83		Moses Artis	42	41				North Carolina	Gas chamber	[49]
84		Roy Kirksey	26	24	2
85		Woodrow Brown		25	1
86	June 30, 1947	Herbert Lee Reddick	17	16				Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
87	July 3, 1947	Ward Beecher Caraway	23	22				New York		[50]
88	July 10, 1947	Salvatore DiCristofaro	34	33			White			[51]
89		Edward Jones	22	20	2		Black
90		Arnold Simms	23	21
91		William J. Thomas	20	18
92	July 11, 1947	Earl L. Tunget	23	21			White	Kentucky		[52]
93		Hillery Ledet	20	18			Black	Louisiana		[53]
94		Henry Scott	25	25	0
95		J. C. Sims	33	33				South Carolina		[54]
96	July 18, 1947	Jessie Perkins	41	Unknown	Unknown			Louisiana		[55]
97		William Davis	43	42	1			Virginia		[56]
98	July 23, 1947	James Lewis Jr.	15	14				Mississippi		[57]
99		Charles Trudell	16	15
100	July 25, 1947	Bert Junior Grant	18	18	0			South Carolina		[58]
101	July 29, 1947	George F. Gumtow	21	21		White	Kansas	Hanging	[59]
102		Cecil Tate	22	22
103	July 30, 1947	Clarence Dampier		21	1	Black	Mississippi	Electrocution	[60]
104	August 1, 1947	Ebenezer Scott	27	Unknown	Unknown		Georgia		[61]
105		Robert Lee Stanford	25	23	2
106		Ross Jerome Abbott		24	1	White	Maryland	Hanging	[62]
107		Weldon Jones Jr.	20	18	2	Black
108		William Pooler	24	24	0		South Carolina	Electrocution	[63]
109	August 4, 1947	Joe Ferguson	42	41	1		Florida		[64]
110		James Andrew Maxwell	31	30
111		Tom Melton	32	31
112	August 8, 1947	Cubie Lee Johnson	24	23			Arkansas		[65]
113		Lawrence William Dukes	40	40	0
114	August 9, 1947	Terrell Loughridge	29	27	2	White	Georgia		[66]
115	August 11, 1947	Fred Jackson	18	16		Black	Tennessee		[67]
116	August 13, 1947	Roosevelt Moore	26	Unknown	Unknown		Georgia		[1]
117	August 15, 1947	Leonard Pringle	25	25	0		South Carolina
118		Ernest Willis		Unknown	Unknown
119	August 21, 1947	Webster Daniel	37	Unknown	Unknown		New York
120	August 29, 1947	Joe Caetano	35	33	2	White	California	Gas chamber	[68]
121	September 5, 1947	Arthur Adams	37	36	1	Black	Texas	Electrocution	[69]
122	September 12, 1947	Elijah Pearson	46	45					[70]
123	September 26, 1947	Floyd P. Cochran	36	34	2		Missouri	Gas chamber	[71]
124	September 29, 1947	Joshua Elwood Beatty	47	46	1	White	Pennsylvania	Electrocution	[72]
125	October 3, 1947	Richard McCain	21	20		Black	North Carolina	Gas chamber	[73]
126		Jethro Lampkin	20	19
127		Robert Messer	21	21	0	White
128		Earl Leonard O'Dear	23	23
129		Willie Cherry	26	25	1	Black
130	October 5, 1947	Raymond Davis	17	17	1		Texas	Electrocution	[74]
131	October 6, 1947	Jim Owen	43	43	0		Georgia		[1]
132		William Paul Byron	39	38	1	White	Pennsylvania		[75]
133		Charles Frederick Moyer	25	24
134	October 10, 1947	Sweetie Bryant Jr.	29	28		Black	Georgia		[76]
135		Oscar L. Ford	21	20					[1]
136		Oscar Douglas	40	39			North Carolina	Gas chamber
137	October 17, 1947	Buford Russell Morton	30	29			Virginia	Electrocution	[77]
138	October 20, 1947	Michael Bubna	37	35	2	White	Pennsylvania		[78]
139	October 24, 1947	Ernest Gaither Jr.	23	23	0	Black	Illinois		[79]
140		Raymond Laurence	29	28	1		Virginia		[80]
141	October 27, 1947	Lawrence Brown	21	20			Pennsylvania		[1]
142	October 31, 1947	Alfred Lorenzo Hawkins	24	Unknown	Unknown		District of Columbia
143		J. C. Brooks	29	28	1		North Carolina	Gas chamber	[81]
144		Grady Brown	27	27	0
145		Thurman Jefferson Munn	25	25
146		Lester Stanley	28	27	1
147	November 14, 1947	Francis Paul Barnes	22	20	2	White	California		[82]
148		Marvin Claude Bell	25	24	1		North Carolina		[83]
149		Ralph Vernon Litteral	35	34
150		Willie Little	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Black
151	November 18, 1947	Nick Morakis	53	51	2	White	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
152	November 28, 1947	Robert Britton	23	22	1	Black	Ohio		[84]
153		James Griffin Jr.	27	26
154	December 4, 1947	Enix Bussey	32	30	2		New York		[85]
155	December 5, 1947	Frank Campbell	25	Unknown	Unknown		Mississippi		[86]
156	December 8, 1947	William W. Chavis	22	21	1		Pennsylvania		[87]
157	December 12, 1947	Roosevelt Miller					South Carolina		[1]
158	December 18, 1947	Walter Lee Boyd	26	25			Mississippi		[88]

Demographics

Gender
Male	156	99%
Female	2	1%
Ethnicity
Black	116	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%
U.S. military	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	21	13%
May	15	9%
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	88	55%
30–39	33	21%
40–49	16	10%
50–59	2	1%
60–69	2	1%
Total	158	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1948	117
1947	158
1946	129
Total	404

References

1. "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved August 27, 2025.
2. "Watson Executed in Vermont Prison". The Lewiston Daily Sun. January 3, 1947. p. 1.
3. "Bassett Master Mechanic To Die Friday Morning". Martinsville Bulletin via newspapers.com. December 31, 1946. p. 1.
4. "Killer Hanged". The Telegraph-Herald. January 5, 1947. p. 5.
5. "State v. Ramsey". vLex.
6. "Slayer Executed, Eyes Removed To Save Sight Of Man, Woman". Albany Democrat-Herald via newspapers.com. January 10, 1947. p. 1.
7. "Hodges v. State". vLex.
8. "Lane Denies Stay; Youth, 20, Hangs". The Afro-American. January 25, 1947. p. 23.
9. "Smiling Negro Woman Meets End Cheerfully". The Spokesman-Review. January 18, 1947. p. 2.
10. "Henley v. State". vLex.
11. "Negro Janitor to Gas Chamber". The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune via newspapers.com. January 24, 1947. p. 8.
12. "Ex parte Broyles". Justia Law.
13. "People v. Honeycutt". Stanford Law School.
14. "Two Negroes Executed". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 9, 1947. p. 3.
15. "Black Executed In Electric Chair At Rockview". The Morning Call via newspapers.com. February 24, 1947. p. 8.
16. "People v. Hilton". Justia Law.
17. "Commonwealth v. Samuel Jones". CourtListener.
18. "3 DIE IN ELECTRIC CHAIR; Queens Youths Pay Penalty for Slaying of Veteran". The New York Times. March 7, 1947. p. 8.
19. "State v. Ragland". CourtListener.
20. "Florida Slayer Dies in Chair". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 17, 1947. p. 5.
21. "People v. Simmons". Justia Law.
22. "State v. Montgomery". vLex.
23. "Vet Executed, Eyes Removed". Democrat and Chronicle via newspapers.com. April 3, 1947. p. 11.
24. "Cop Killer First To Get Chair In South Dakota". The Evening Independent. April 8, 1947. p. 4.
25. "Mrs. Peete Pays for Her Crimes". San Jose Evening News. April 11, 1947. p. 1.
26. "State v. Martin". CaseMine.
27. "2 Brooklyn Killers Lose Appeal". The New York Times. March 1, 1947.
28. "SOLDIER HANGED; Dies for Assault on Woman". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . April 22, 1947. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
29. "May 1, 1947". The Union Appeal via newspapers.com. April 30, 1947. p. 2.
30. "Electric Chair Gets 2 Killers". The Spokesman-Review. April 28, 1947. p. 2.
31. "Two Convicted Slayers To Be Executed Today". Waycross Journal-Herald. May 2, 1947. p. 1.
32. "Webber Atwood Pays Penalty". Tensas Gazette via newspapers.com. May 9, 1947. p. 1.
33. "Slayer of Two Pays With Life". St. Joseph Gazette. May 8, 1947. p. 12.
34. "Slayer Sees Electrocution As Ending 'Hell On Earth'". Painesville Telegraph. May 9, 1947. p. 5.
35. "Double-Cross Ends in Chair". The Windsor Daily Star. May 9, 1947. p. 6.
36. "Dead Killer Gives Eyes To Sightless". The Windsor Daily Star. May 17, 1947. p. 18.
37. "Mitchell Faces Chair; Plea Denied by Board". St. Mary and Franklin Banner-Tribune via newspapers.com. April 25, 1947. p. 1.
38. "Negro Electrocuted For Second Slaying". The Tuscaloosa News. May 25, 1947. p. 1.
39. "Convicted Slayer to Die in Chair May 6". Richmond Afro American. May 10, 1947. p. 7.
40. "Death Penalty Is Affirmed". The Bonham Daily Favorite. March 6, 1947. p. 2.
41. "Freeman Dies in Ohio Pen". Youngstown Vindicator. June 6, 1947. p. 8.
42. "People v. Dunn". Justia Law.
43. "Boxcar Killer Dies in Chair". Spokane Daily Chronicle. June 7, 1947. p. 29.
44. "Convicted Killer's Electrocution Set". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 8, 1947. p. 7.
45. "Rapist Pays With Life in Georgia Death Chair". The Spokesman-Review. June 18, 1947. p. 7.
46. "Colored Death Notices". The Tennessean via newspapers.com. June 23, 1947. p. 2.
47. "Scheduled to Die". Prescott Evening Courier. June 20, 1947. p. 5.
48. "Midnight Attacker Dies at Midnight". The Spokesman-Review. June 28, 1947. p. 21.
49. "Trio Executed in N.C. Today". The Gaston Gazette via newspapers.com. June 27, 1947. p. 3.
50. "CARAWAY IS GUILTY; WILL DIE IN CHAIR". The New York Times. December 19, 1946.
51. "Sing Sing Sends Four to Execution". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 11, 1947. p. 1.
52. "Tunget Goes To Chair As Last Minute Pleas Fail". Kentucky New Era. July 11, 1947. p. 1.
53. "Henry Scott & Hillery Ledet to be electrocuted". The Ville Platte Gazette via newspapers.com. July 10, 1947. p. 1.
54. "'I'm Sorry,' Killer Says Before Death". The Columbia Record via newspapers.com. July 11, 1947. p. 1.
55. "Electrocuted". Hattiesburg American via newspapers.com. July 18, 1947. p. 18.
56. "Davis v. Commonwealth". CaseMine. July 18, 1947.
57. "Teen-Agers Executed". Reading Eagle. July 23, 1947. p. 10.
58. "New Case Reported". Spokane Daily Chronicle. July 23, 1947. p. 23.
59. "Young Slayers Die On Gallows". The Tuscaloosa News. July 29, 1947. p. 2.
60. "Quitman Negro Dies in Chair in Marks Today". The Clarksdale Press Register via newspapers.com. July 30, 1947. p. 1.
61. "Two Put to Death in Tattnall Chair". The Sylvester Local. August 7, 1947. p. 1.
62. "Jones Walks 'Last Mile' After Two-Year Death Watch". Richmond Afro-American. August 7, 1947. p. 23.
63. "Confessed". St. Petersburg Times. May 26, 1947. p. 4.
64. "3 Must Die". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. August 2, 1947. p. 1.
65. "Two Negro Murderers Executed in Arkansas". The Southeast Missourian. August 8, 1947. p. 8.
66. "Loughridge v. State". vLex.
67. "Tennessee Negro Dies in Chair". Lewiston Evening Journal. August 11, 1947. p. 7.
68. "People v. Caetano". Stanford Law School.
69. "Negro in Texas Gains Extra Hour of Life". The Telegraph-Herald. September 5, 1947. p. 1.
70. "Texas Negro Dies In Electric Chair". The Victoria Advocate. September 12, 1947. p. 2.
71. "Negro Pays Death Penalty". The Nevada Daily Mail. September 26, 1947. p. 1.
72. "Wife Slayer, 47, Dies in Chair". The Pittsburgh Press. September 29, 1947. p. 18.
73. "Five Executed in N. Carolina". The Telegraph-Herald. October 3, 1947. p. 1.
74. "Negro Executed at State Prison Early Sunday". The Vernon Daily Record via newspapers.com. October 3, 1947. p. 3.
75. "Commonwealth v. Moyer". CourtListener.
76. "Bryant v. State". CaseMine.
77. "Morton Put To Death At Penitentiary". The Bee via newspapers.com. October 17, 1947. p. 1.
78. "Mike Bubna Dies in Electric Chair for 1946 Slaying in Erie". The Kane Republican via newspapers.com. October 20, 1947. p. 1.
79. "Regret Futile, Killer to Die". The Windsor Daily Star. October 23, 1947. p. 14.
80. "Reprieve Denied Negro Murderer". The Free-Lance Star. October 8, 1947. p. 1.
81. "Four Convicted Murderers Executed In N.C. Prison". The Tuscaloosa News. October 31, 1947. p. 1.
82. "People v. Barnes". Stanford Law School.
83. "Two Executed For Rape Of Young Girl". Kentucky New Era. November 15, 1947. p. 2.
84. "2 Sharecroppers Die For Dice Game Murder". Youngstown Vindicator. November 29, 1947. p. 4.
85. "Man Who Got Two Sentences Is Executed". Schenectady Gazette. December 5, 1947. p. 5.
86. "12-Minute Drama". The Memphis Press-Scimitar via newspapers.com. December 5, 1947. p. 16.
87. "Philadelphia Negro Executed for Murder". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 8, 1947. p. 8.
88. "Armed Robber Executed". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 19, 1947. p. 13.

Preceded by 1946

List of people executed       in the United States in    1947

Succeeded by 1948