List of people executed in the United States in 1948

One hundred and seventeen people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1948, eighty-nine by electrocution, twenty by gas chamber, and eight by hanging. ^[1]

List of people executed in the United States in 1948

No.	Date of execution	Name	Age of person			Gender	Ethnicity	State	Method	Ref.
			At execution	At offense	Age difference
1	January 2, 1948	Joe Porter	27	27	0	Male	Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
2		Leroy Scrutchens	37	37
3		Frank Black	20	Unknown	Unknown			North Carolina	Gas chamber
4		Earnest Howard	25	25	0			South Carolina	Electrocution	[2]
5		Lonnie Harvey Cline	28	26	2		White	Texas		[3]
6		Paul William Burton	33	33	0			West Virginia	Hanging	[4]
7	January 5, 1948	Reuben Harper	30	29	1		Black	Florida	Electrocution	[5]
8	January 8, 1948	Jauvham Jackson	18	Unknown	Unknown			New York		[1]
9	January 9, 1948	Irvin Mattio		15	3			Louisiana
10		Willie Edward Gidron	19	18	1			South Carolina		[6]
11	January 16, 1948	John Henry Breeze	Unknown	Unknown	2			North Carolina	Gas chamber	[7]
12	January 23, 1948	Jesse Lee Dickerson	22		Unknown			Mississippi	Electrocution	[1]
13		Wardell Heath Henderson	27	25	2			Oregon	Gas chamber	[8]
14		Sam Baldwin	35	35	0			Virginia	Electrocution	[1]
15	January 26, 1948	Jose Sanchez Sanchez	28	26	2		Hispanic	California	Gas chamber	[9]
16	January 30, 1948	George McKinley Sexton	21	20	1		Black	Ohio	Electrocution	[10]
17		Mark R. McCauley	36	35			White	West Virginia	Hanging	[11]
18	February 4, 1948	Nolan Edwin West	25	Unknown	Unknown			Texas	Electrocution	[1]
19	February 13, 1948	James Harold Hyde	27	26	1			Arkansas		[12]
20		Eddie Brown Jr.	23	23	0		Black	Georgia		[13]
21	February 16, 1948	J. W. Torbert	37	36	1					[14]
22	February 20, 1948	Thomas Henry McMonigle	33	31	2		White	California	Gas chamber	[15]
23	February 27, 1948	Luther Williams	27	27	0		Black	Kentucky	Electrocution	[16]
24	March 1, 1948	Austin Archibald Nelson	29	28	1			Federal government	Hanging	[17]
25	March 5, 1948	James Mangum	18	16	2			Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
26	March 12, 1948	Floyd Dace	22	21	1			Ohio		[18]
27	March 19, 1948	Noel Jackson Grant Sr.	40	39			White	Alabama		[19]
28		John Henry Munson Jr.	28	26	2		Black			[20]
29	March 26, 1948	L. P. Campbell	25	24	1			Georgia		[1]
30		William Stewart	40	39				Mississippi		[21]
31	March 28, 1948	Bennie Louis Johnson	25	23	2			Texas		[1]
32		Clayton Homer Rushing	26	25	1		White			[22]
33	April 9, 1948	John J. Peterson	41	37	4			California	Gas chamber	[23]
34	April 12, 1948	Robert Bradley	37	35	2		Black	Connecticut	Electrocution	[24]
35	April 16, 1948	George Isby	26	24				California	Gas chamber	[25]
36	April 22, 1948	Buster Hooks	Unknown	Unknown	0			North Carolina		[26]
37		John T. Kelley	21	20	1		White	Tennessee	Electrocution	[27]
38		James Daniel Sandusky Jr.	20	19
39	April 23, 1948	Joseph Bessar Jr.	22	19	3		Black	Louisiana		[28]
40		Wilbert Powell	21	18
41		Booker Anderson	29	28	1			North Carolina	Gas chamber	[1]
42		James J. Brooks	24	22	2			New Jersey	Electrocution	[29]
43		Kenneth Robert Salter	34	32			White	Ohio		[30]
44		John Major Brooks	27	26	1		Black	Virginia		[31]
45	April 25, 1948	Willie Sims	36	33	3			Texas		[1]
46	April 30, 1948	Herbert Hopkins	Unknown	Unknown	0			Louisiana		[32]
47		Henry Tilghman Jackson	32	28	4			Maryland	Hanging	[1]
48		Roy Lee Lathco	39	Unknown	Unknown		White			[33]
49		Ollie Smith Jr.	22	21	1		Black			[34]
50	May 7, 1948	James Leroy Jackson	42	42	0			North Carolina	Gas chamber	[35]
51	May 25, 1948	Lewis Grayson	31	28	3			Oklahoma	Electrocution	[1]
52	May 28, 1948	Paul Charles Winton	51	51	0		Native American	California	Gas chamber	[36]
53	June 4, 1948	George Hammond	30	29	1		Black	North Carolina		[37]
54		Henderson Wilson	27	26
55	June 14, 1948	Alexander Harley Wiles	41	39	2		White	Florida	Electrocution	[38]
56	June 18, 1948	Wallis Hamburg	22	21	1			Mississippi		[39]
57	June 25, 1948	Edward Spriggs Jr.	21	Unknown	Unknown		Black	Louisiana		[1]
58		Monroe Gipson	19	18	1			Mississippi		[40]
59	June 29, 1948	Marvin Murray	24	22	2					[41]
60	July 1, 1948	Anthony R. Papa	27	26	1		White	New York		[42]
61	July 2, 1948	Edward Pugh	20	19			Black	Arkansas		[1]
62		Rufus Willis		Unknown	Unknown			Mississippi
63		Clifford William Gayles	34	34	0			Ohio		[43]
64	July 9, 1948	Joseph Lee Saulter	33	32	1		White	Texas		[1]
65	July 12, 1948	Grant Holley	48	46	2	Black	Pennsylvania	[44]
66	July 16, 1948	Elmer Curnutt	21	21	0	White	Ohio	[45]
67	July 18, 1948	John Amos Coleman	57	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Texas	[1]
68	July 22, 1948	Lester Haughton	24	22	2		New York	[46]
69		George Cornelius Moore	34	32
70	July 30, 1948	Jasper Nease	24	23	1	White	Kentucky	[47]
71	August 1, 1948	Henry Brown	23	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Texas	[1]
72	August 13, 1948	Red Lamar Nunn	43	42	1		Georgia
73	August 16, 1948	Sam Whitt Jr.	22	Unknown	Unknown			[48]
74	August 20, 1948	Donald E. Frohner	18	16	2	White	Ohio	[49]
75		Riley Brown McCaine	43	40	3		Texas	[1]
76	August 23, 1948	Alonzo Washington Jr.	26	26	0	Black	Florida
77	August 24, 1948	Cleo Smith	29	Unknown	Unknown		Texas
78	August 31, 1948	Thomas Howard Taylor	33	32	1		Tennessee	[50]
79		James Monroe Scribner	23	22
80		William J. C. Turner	21	20
81	September 6, 1948	Elbert Eugene Harper	30	29			Florida	[51]
82		Alfonso Enmond	35	35	0
83	September 15, 1948	David Joseph Watson	24	22	2		Federal government	[52]
84	September 16, 1948	John Henry Reilly	33	31		White	New York	[53]
85		Milton Shaket	34	32
86	September 17, 1948	Lawrence Davis	29	28	1	Black	South Carolina	[1]
87	September 23, 1948	Matthew Perison	31	31	0		West Virginia	Hanging	[54]
88	September 27, 1948	Ben Gould	40	40			Oklahoma	Electrocution	[1]
89	September 28, 1948	George Cole	25	23	2		New Jersey		[55]
90		George Hicks	23	21
91	October 1, 1948	Joseph A. Trujillo	30	28		Hispanic	California	Gas chamber	[56]
92	October 3, 1948	Andrew Hill	23	Unknown	Unknown	Black	Texas	Electrocution	[1]
93	October 5, 1948	Lonnie Lee Talley	25	24	1		Florida
94	October 11, 1948	William Rumage	30	22	8	White	Pennsylvania
95	October 15, 1948	Arthur Robert Eggers	54	51	3		California	Gas chamber	[57]
96		J. B. Beetles	32	31	1	Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[58]
97		William Cular Davis	55	54
98		Lemuel Thomas Steed	28	28	0		West Virginia	Hanging	[1]
99	October 25, 1948	Lacy Stewart	17	15	2		Florida	Electrocution	[59]
100		Nathaniel Henry Strain	26	17	9		Ohio		[60]
101	October 29, 1948	Johnnie James	30	Unknown	Unknown		Virginia		[1]
102	November 5, 1948	Jewell Jay Eller	21	19	2	White	Georgia		[61]
103		Charlie Corn Garrett	26	25	1
104		Daniel Troy McPeak	22	21			Kentucky		[62]
105	November 8, 1948	Daniel Peter Taranow	24	23			Pennsylvania		[63]
106	November 19, 1948	James Pete West	21	20		Black	North Carolina	Gas chamber	[1]
107	November 26, 1948	L. C. Brown	25	25	0		Georgia	Electrocution
108	December 1, 1948	Timothy Iron Bear	24	22	2	Native American	Nebraska		[64]
109	December 3, 1948	Samuel Richard Shockley	39	37		White	Federal government	Gas chamber	[65]
110		Miran Edgar Thompson	30	28
111		Matthew Jamison	18	18	0	Black	South Carolina	Electrocution	[1]
112	December 10, 1948	Carlos Romero Ochoa	29	27	2	Hispanic	Federal government	Gas chamber	[66]
113		Jesse James Patton	23	21		Black	District of Columbia	Electrocution	[67]
114		Reginald Joseph Wheeler	28	26
115		Eugene Raist Cooper	21	20	1		Mississippi		[1]
116	December 31, 1948	Robert F. Mehaffey	38	37		White	California	Gas chamber	[68]
117		Leroy Grant Troy	22	22	0	Black	South Carolina	Electrocution	[1]

Demographics

Gender
Male	117	100%
Female	0	0%
Ethnicity
Black	80	68%
White	32	27%
Hispanic	3	3%
Native American	2	2%
State
Georgia	13	11%
Texas	11	9%
California	8	7%
North Carolina	8	7%
Florida	7	6%
Mississippi	7	6%
Ohio	7	6%
New York	6	5%
Federal government	5	4%
Louisiana	5	4%
South Carolina	5	4%
Tennessee	5	4%
West Virginia	4	3%
Kentucky	3	3%
Maryland	3	3%
New Jersey	3	3%
Pennsylvania	3	3%
Virginia	3	3%
Alabama	2	2%
Arkansas	2	2%
District of Columbia	2	2%
Oklahoma	2	2%
Connecticut	1	1%
Nebraska	1	1%
Oregon	1	1%
Method
Electrocution	89	76%
Gas chamber	20	17%
Hanging	8	7%
Month
January	17	15%
February	6	5%
March	9	8%
April	17	15%
May	3	3%
June	7	6%
July	11	9%
August	10	9%
September	10	9%
October	11	9%
November	6	5%
December	10	9%
Age
Unknown	3	3%
10–19	8	7%
20–29	63	54%
30–39	30	26%
40–49	9	8%
50–59	4	3%
Total	117	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1949	120
1948	117
1947	157
Total	394

References

1. "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved August 27, 2025.
2. "Negro to Die in Chair in Columbia Today". Herald-Journal. January 2, 1948. p. 4.
3. "Cline v. State". vLex.
4. "Slayer Sings Before Execution". The Pittsburgh Press. January 3, 1948. p. 2.
5. "Negro Seized In Rape Case". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 10, 1946. p. 3.
6. "Electrocution Slated". Sarasota Herald-Journal. January 9, 1948. p. 6.
7. "Slayer Who Got Yule Reprieve Is Executed". Reading Eagle. January 16, 1948. p. 1.
8. "Death Penalty Opposition Set". Eugene Register-Guard. January 24, 1948. p. 1.
9. "People v. Sanchez". Justia Law.
10. "Ohio Slayer Executed; Gave Eyes To Blind Vets". Toledo Blade. January 31, 1948. p. 1.
11. "McCauley Due To Be Hanged At 9 Tonight". Williamson Daily News. January 30, 1948. p. 1.
12. "Eyes Of Killer Left To Blind". St. Joseph Gazette. February 14, 1948. p. 5.
13. "Negro Sentenced To Be Executed". The Tuscaloosa News. January 25, 1948. p. 12.
14. "Torbert v. State". vLex.
15. "McMonigle Goes To Gas Chamber Death". Lodi News-Sentinel. February 21, 1948. p. 7.
16. "Negro to Die Friday for Raping White Woman". Messenger-Inquirer via newspapers.com. February 26, 1948. p. 19.
17. "Negro Murderer Hanged At Juneau". Ellensburg Daily Record. March 1, 1948. p. 1.
18. "Third Dice-Game Murderer To Die". Toledo Blade. March 12, 1948. p. 1.
19. "Wife Who Nagged Man Crazy Fails to Save Him from Chair". The Pittsburgh Press. March 19, 1948. p. 10.
20. "Negro Granted Reprieve". The Tuscaloosa News. March 10, 1948. p. 5.
21. "Stewart v. State". vLex.
22. "Must Die For Killing Three". St. Joseph Gazette. January 23, 1948. p. 21.
23. "People v. Peterson". Stanford Law School.
24. "Triple Murderer Calmly Goes to Death in Chair". The Day. April 13, 1948. p. 4.
25. "People v. Isby". FindLaw.
26. "State v. Hooks". vLex.
27. "2 Slayers Executed; Eye Bequest Failed". The Washington Daily News via newspapers.com. April 22, 1948. p. 4.
28. "State v. Bessar". vLex.
29. "Wife Prays, Brooks Calm as He Walks 'Last Mile'". The Afro-American. May 8, 1948. p. 31.
30. "Rape-Slayer of Girl Dies in Ohio Chair". Middlesboro Daily News. April 24, 1948. p. 1.
31. "Rape-Slayer of Girl Dies in Ohio Chair". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 23, 1948. p. 22.
32. "Three Negroes Murdered in Brutal Crime Here". The Assumption Pioneer via newspapers.com. November 21, 1947. p. 1.
33. "Asks Clemency". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 1, 1948. p. 10.
34. "Condemned Man Begs Governor Lane to Spare His Life". Baltimore Afro-American. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
35. "State v. Jackson". vLex.
36. "People v. Winton". Stanford Law School.
37. "State v. Hammond". vLex.
38. "Must Die Today". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. June 14, 1948. p. 1.
39. "Hamburg v. State". vLex.
40. "Gipson v. State". vLex.
41. "Mississippi Court Upholds Segregation". Times Daily. January 14, 1948. p. 1.
42. "Vet Held in Murder of Girl, 5". Nassau Daily Review-Star. April 21, 1947. p. 1.
43. "Confessed Killer Of Two Executed". Toledo Blade. July 3, 1948. p. 2.
44. "Commonwealth v. Holley". CourtListener.
45. "Convicted Man Goes To Chair With Prayer". Kentucky New Era. July 20, 1948. p. 2.
46. "2 WIN DEATH STAY IN BRONX KILLING; High Court Orders New Trial Based on Negroes' Exclusion From Blue Ribbon Jury". The New York Times. December 23, 1947.
47. "Nease Dies In Electric Chair In Robbery-Slaying of Hodge". The Courier-Journal via newspapers.com. July 30, 1948. p. 23.
48. "Whitt v. State". CaseMine.
49. "State v. Frohner". CourtListener.
50. "Three Negroes Are Electrocuted On Rape Count". The Tuscaloosa News. August 31, 1948. p. 2.
51. "Two Negroes Die in Chair". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. September 7, 1948. p. 3.
52. "Negro Slayer Electrocuted At Raiford". The Miami Herald via newspapers.com. September 7, 1948. p. 3.
53. "SLAYER'S KIN SEEK 3D MAN IN HOLD-UP; $5,000 Reward Offered by the Family of Milton Shaket for Apprehension of Fugitive". The New York Times. September 10, 1948.
54. "Ax-Slayer of Three Hanged in West Va". The Pittsburgh Press. September 24, 1948. p. 25.
55. "2 Executed For Holdup Murder". Gettysburg Times. September 29, 1948. p. 3.
56. "People v. Trujillo". Justia Law.
57. "Former Sheriff's Clerk Executed For Slaying Wife". The San Bernardino County Sun via newspapers.com. October 16, 1948. p. 11.
58. "Georgia Plans Big Execution". The Telegraph-Herald. October 15, 1948. p. 14.
59. "Negro Slayer To Die". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. October 17, 1948. p. 14.
60. "Execution Tonight". Williamson Daily News. October 25, 1948. p. 6.
61. "2 Convicted Killers Denied Commutation". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. November 5, 1948. p. 1.
62. "Robber-Slayer Is Electrocuted". The Free Lance-Star. November 5, 1948. p. 2.
63. "Bridegroom, 23, Dies for Slaying". The Tuscaloosa News. November 8, 1948. p. 18.
64. "Young Indian Is Executed". The Telegraph-Herald. December 1, 1948. p. 12.
65. "Gas Takes Lives of Alcatraz Pair". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 4, 1948. p. 5.
66. "Border Patrolman Slayer Goes To Death In Chamber". Lodi News-Sentinel. December 11, 1948. p. 5.
67. "Two Slayers Executed". Reading Eagle. December 10, 1948. p. 26.
68. "People v. Mehaffey". Stanford Law School.

Preceded by 1947

List of people executed       in the United States in    1948

Succeeded by 1949