List of people executed in the United States in 1960

Fifty-six people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1960, forty by electrocution, fourteen by gas chamber, one by firing squad, and one by hanging. At least one notable execution was that of kidnapper Caryl Chessman. Connecticut, for its part, would carry out its last involuntary execution. (The last overall would be in 2005). ^[1]

List of people executed in the United States in 1960

No.	Date of execution	Name	Age of person			Gender	Ethnicity	State	Method	Ref.
			At execution	At offense	Age difference
1	January 8, 1960	Phillip Henry Hamilton	23	21	2	Male	Black	California	Gas chamber	[2]
2		Jimmie Lee Jones	20	18
3		David Cooper Nelson	39	35	4		White	New Mexico		[3]
4	January 14, 1960	Ivory Mason	40		5		Black	New York	Electrocution	[1]
5	January 15, 1960	Homer Bunckley	26	25	1			Georgia		[4]
6	January 22, 1960	Leroy Adolph Leick	36	30	6		White	Colorado	Gas chamber	[5]
7	February 1, 1960	Ralph Williams	21	18	3		Black	Florida	Electrocution	[6]
8	February 19, 1960	Robert Lee Lyons	29	26				Ohio		[1]
9	February 24, 1960	Earl Lewis Steward	41	39	2		White	Nevada	Gas chamber	[7]
10	March 4, 1960	Ernest Albert	34	33	1			Georgia	Electrocution	[8]
11	March 5, 1960	Junior Lee Williams	30	26	4		Black	Texas		[9]
12	March 11, 1960	Robert Dwight Fenton	25	23	2		White	Arizona	Gas chamber	[1]
13	March 30, 1960	James Woode Rodgers	49	46	3			Utah	Firing squad	[10]
14	April 22, 1960	Lawrence Leroy Wade	32	30	2		Black	California	Gas chamber	[11]
15	April 28, 1960	Nearvel Moon	19	18	1		White	Texas	Electrocution	[12]
16	April 29, 1960	Columbus Boggs	27	24	3		Black	Alabama		[13]
17	May 2, 1960	Caryl Whittier Chessman	38	26	12		White	California	Gas chamber	[14]
18	May 12, 1960	Pablo Vargas	35	33	2		Hispanic	New York	Electrocution	[15]
19	May 13, 1960	Rogers Boone	28	24	4		Black	Arkansas		[16]
20		James Matthew Moore	22	18
21		James Eugene Hooton	27	26	1		White	California	Gas chamber	[17]
22	May 17, 1960	Joseph Louis Taborsky	36	32	4			Connecticut	Electrocution	[18]
23	May 19, 1960	Henry Flakes	33	31	2		Black	New York		[1]
24		Walter T. Green
25	May 20, 1960	James Albert Boyd	21	17	4			Arkansas		[16]
26		Willie Henry Byrd	22	18
27	May 26, 1960	Howard Draper Jr.	28	26	2			Texas		[19]
28	May 31, 1960	Robert Junior Johnson	29	28	1			South Carolina		[20]
29	June 10, 1960	Frank Wilson	53	52				Georgia		[21]
30	June 20, 1960	James E. Brooks	29	27	2			Florida		[22]
31	June 23, 1960	Willard H. Phillips	44	42				New York		[23]
32	June 24, 1960	Herring Davis	40	39	1			Georgia		[24]
33	June 25, 1960	John Richard Brodersen	34	33			White	Washington	Hanging	[1]
34	June 30, 1960	Harry Eugene Fuller	31	29	2		Black	Virginia	Electrocution	[25]
35	July 1, 1960	Nathaniel Johnson	25	23				Georgia		[26]
36	July 8, 1960	Richard Thomas Cooper	37	35				California	Gas chamber	[27]
37		George Williams	30	29	1			Texas	Electrocution	[28]
38	July 15, 1960	Willie Edward Philpot	29	27	2					[29]
39	July 28, 1960	Edward Leon Williams	30	26	4		White	Oklahoma		[30]
40	August 9, 1960	Robert S. Harmon	27		1			California	Gas chamber	[31]
41	August 12, 1960	George Moses	30	29			Black	Texas	Electrocution	[32]
42	August 27, 1960	Eusebio Regalado Martinez	27	24	3		Hispanic			[33]
43	August 31, 1960	James Spence	32	30	2		White	Oklahoma		[34]
44	September 7, 1960	George Albert Scott	36	34				California	Gas chamber	[35]
45	September 16, 1960	Emmett Earl Leggett	23	19	4			Arkansas	Electrocution	[36]
46		William Frank Nail	28	26	2					[37]
47	October 1, 1960	Joseph Louis Cosby	24	22			Black	Ohio		[38]
48	October 28, 1960	John Bracey	27	26	1			Arkansas		[1]
49		Lawrence Gene Moore	21	19	2
50	November 7, 1960	William James Tines	37	34	3			Tennessee		[39]
51	November 10, 1960	Nathaniel Young	42	41	1			Mississippi	Gas chamber	[40]
52	November 21, 1960	Oscar James Wimis	44	43				Georgia	Electrocution	[1]
53	November 30, 1960	Samuel Morris Holmes Jr.	22	20	2			Texas		[41]
54	December 1, 1960	Ronald Chapman	20	19	1			New York		[42]
55	December 15, 1960	Ray Allen Young	34	32	2		White	Oklahoma		[43]
56	December 28, 1960	Raymond Leslie Cartier	32	29	3			California	Gas chamber	[44]

Demographics

Gender
Male	56	100%
Female	0	0%
Ethnicity
Black	35	63%
White	19	34%
Hispanic	2	4%
State
California	9	16%
Arkansas	8	14%
Texas	8	14%
Georgia	6	11%
New York	6	11%
Oklahoma	3	5%
Florida	2	4%
Ohio	2	4%
Alabama	1	2%
Arizona	1	2%
Colorado	1	2%
Connecticut	1	2%
Mississippi	1	2%
Nevada	1	2%
New Mexico	1	2%
South Carolina	1	2%
Tennessee	1	2%
Utah	1	2%
Virginia	1	2%
Washington	1	2%
Method
Electrocution	40	71%
Gas chamber	14	25%
Firing squad	1	2%
Hanging	1	2%
Month
January	6	11%
February	3	5%
March	4	7%
April	3	5%
May	12	21%
June	6	11%
July	5	9%
August	4	7%
September	3	5%
October	3	5%
November	4	7%
December	3	5%
Age
10–19	1	2%
20–29	26	46%
30–39	21	38%
40–49	7	13%
50–59	1	2%
Total	56	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1961	43
1960	56
1959	50
Total	149

References

1. "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved June 18, 2025.
2. "People v. Jones". FindLaw.
3. "Bible Quoting N. M. Killer Dies With Smile on His Face". El Paso Herald-Post via newspapers.com. January 8, 1960. p. 16.
4. "Negro Man Sentenced To Death". Ledger-Enquirer via newspapers.com. March 12, 1959. p. 16.
5. "Leick v. People". Justia Law.
6. "Smith judge gave him big break". Tampa Bay Times. December 5, 1991.
7. "Steward v. State". Justia Law.
8. "Albert v. State". Justia Law.
9. "Junior Lee Williams v. H. E. Moore, Warden, Texas Department of Corrections, 262 F.2d 335 (5th Cir. 1959)". Justia Law.
10. "Firing Squad Executes Killer At Utah Prison". Meriden Record. March 31, 1960. p. 28.
11. "People v. Wade". FindLaw.
12. "Moon v. State". Justia Law.
13. "Documentation for the execution of Columbus Boggs". M. E. Grenander Special Collections & Archives.
14. "JUSTICE: The Chessman Affair". Time Magazine. March 21, 1960.
15. "RAPE KILLER EXECUTED; Pablo Vargas Dies in Chair for Slaying Girl, 16". The New York Times. May 13, 1960.
16. "James M. Moore and Rogers Boone, Appellants, v. Lee Henslee, Superintendent of the Arkansas Statepenitentiary, Appellee". Justia Law.
17. "People v. Hooton". Justia Law.
18. "State v. Taborsky". Justia Law.
19. "Rapist Dies In Chair At Huntsville". Pampa Daily News via newspapers.com. May 26, 1960. p. 6.
20. "State v. Johnson". Justia Law.
21. "Wilson v. State". Justia Law.
22. "Brooks v. State". Justia Law.
23. "Willard H. PHILLIPS, petitioner, v. NEW YORK". Legal Information Institute.
24. "Davis v. State". Leagle.
25. "Fuller v. Commonwealth". Justia Law.
26. "Johnson v. State". Justia Law.
27. "People v. Cooper". Stanford Law School.
28. "George Williams Executed Friday". Tyler Morning Telegraph via newspapers.com. July 9, 1960. p. 16.
29. "Philpot v. State". Justia Law.
30. "Williams v. State". vLex.
31. "People v. Harmon". Stanford Law School.
32. "Moses v. State". Justia Law.
33. "Martinez v. State". Justia Law.
34. "Spence v. State". Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
35. "People v. Scott". Justia Law.
36. "Leggett v. State". Justia Law.
37. "Nail v. State". Justia Law.
38. "State v. Cosby". vLex.
39. "The Electrocution of William Tines". TBA Law Blog. March 1, 2013.
40. "Negro Is Executed Thursday". Clarion-Ledger via newspapers.com. November 11, 1960. p. 6.
41. "Holmes v. State". Justia Law.
42. "Man Executed for Killing". The New York Times. December 2, 1960.
43. "Young v. State". Justia Law.
44. "People v. Cartier". Stanford Law School.

Preceded by 1959

List of people executed       in the United States in    1960

Succeeded by 1961