List of people executed in the United States in 1985

Eighteen people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1985, eleven by electrocution, and seven by lethal injection. ^{[1] [2]} Charles Rumbaugh became the first of 22 juvenile offenders to be executed in the United States in the modern era before the Supreme Court banned capital punishment for juvenile offenders under Roper v. Simmons in 2005.

List of people executed in the United States in 1985

No.	Date of execution	Name	Age of person			Gender	Ethnicity	State	Method	Ref.
			At execution	At offense	Age difference
1	January 4, 1985	David Dene Martin	32	25	7	Male	White	Louisiana	Electrocution	[3]
2	January 9, 1985	Roosevelt Green Jr.	28	20	8		Black	Georgia		[4]
3	January 11, 1985	Joseph Carl Shaw	29	22	7		White	South Carolina		[5]
4	January 16, 1985	Doyle Edward Skillern	48	38	10			Texas	Lethal injection	[6]
5	January 30, 1985	James David Raulerson	34	25	9			Florida	Electrocution	[7]
6	February 20, 1985	Van Roosevelt Solomon	41	35	6		Black	Georgia		[8]
7	March 6, 1985	Johnny Paul Witt	42	30	12		White	Florida		[9]
8	March 13, 1985	Stephen Peter Morin	34		4			Texas	Lethal injection	[10]
9	March 20, 1985	John C. Young	28	18	10		Black	Georgia	Electrocution	[11]
10	April 18, 1985	James Dyral Briley Jr.		23	5			Virginia		[12]
11	May 15, 1985	Jesse De La Rosa	24	18	6		Hispanic	Texas	Lethal injection	[13]
12	May 29, 1985	Marvin Francois	39	31	8		Black	Florida	Electrocution	[14]
13	June 25, 1985	Charles Milton	34	26				Texas	Lethal injection	[15]
14		Morris Odell Mason	31	24	7			Virginia	Electrocution	[16]
15	July 9, 1985	Henry Martinez Porter	43	33	10		Hispanic	Texas	Lethal injection	[17]
16	September 11, 1985	Charles Francis Rumbaugh	28	17	11		White			[18]
17	October 16, 1985	William Earl Vandiver	37	34	3			Indiana	Electrocution	[19]
18	December 6, 1985	Carroll Edward Cole	47	39	8			Nevada	Lethal injection	[20]
		Average:	35 years	27 years	8 years

Demographics

Gender
Male	18	100%
Female	0	0%
Ethnicity
White	9	50%
Black	7	39%
Hispanic	2	11%
State
Texas	6	33%
Florida	3	17%
Georgia	3	17%
Virginia	2	11%
Indiana	1	6%
Louisiana	1	6%
Nevada	1	6%
South Carolina	1	6%
Method
Electrocution	11	61%
Lethal injection	7	39%
Month
January	5	28%
February	1	6%
March	3	17%
April	1	6%
May	2	11%
June	2	11%
July	1	6%
August	0	0%
September	1	6%
October	1	6%
November	0	0%
December	1	6%
Age
20–29	6	33%
30–39	7	39%
40–49	5	28%
Total	18	100%

Executions in recent years

Number of executions
1986	18
1985	18
1984	21
Total	57

References

1. "Execution List 1976-1986". Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved June 15, 2025.
2. "U.S. Executions Since 1976". The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
3. "One-Time Sidewalk Evangelist Executed for Murders of Four". Los Angeles Times. January 4, 1985.
4. "Roosevelt Green is executed while mother watches". UPI. January 9, 1985.
5. "Former Altar Boy Executed in S. Carolina". Los Angeles Times. January 12, 1985.
6. "CONVICT IN TEXAS DIES BY INJECTION". The New York Times. January 16, 1985.
7. "FLORIDA EXECUTES KILLER OF OFFICER". The New York Times. January 31, 1985.
8. "Van Roosevelt Solomon, a former minister who was once..." UPI. February 20, 1985.
9. "SLAYER OF TAMPA BOY ELECTROCUTED IN FLORIDA". The New York Times. March 7, 1985.
10. "MURDERER OF THREE WOMEN IS EXECUTED IN TEXAS". The New York Times. March 14, 1985.
11. "GEORGIA CONVICT IS EXECUTED FOR 3 FATAL BEATINGS IN 1974". The New York Times. March 20, 1985.
12. "James Briley Dies In Electric Chair". The Washington Post. April 18, 1985.
13. "PRISONER IN TEXAS DIES FOR MURDER". The New York Times. May 16, 1985.
14. "FLORIDA PRISONER DIES FOR SLAYINGS". The New York Times. May 30, 1985.
15. "Charles Milton, who shot and killed a woman during..." UPI. June 25, 1985.
16. "'Killer for Eastern Shore' Executed After Gov. Robb Denies Final Pleas". The Washington Post. June 26, 1985.
17. "KILLER PUT TO DEATH IN TEXAS". The New York Times. July 10, 1985.
18. "TEXAN PUT TO DEATH FOR A MURDER COMMITTED AT 17". The New York Times. September 12, 1985.
19. "Killer's Electrocution Takes 17 Minutes in Indiana Chair". The Washington Post. October 17, 1985.
20. "CONFESSED MURDERER OF 13 IS EXECUTED IN NEVADA". The New York Times. December 7, 1985.

Preceded by 1984

List of people executed       in the United States in    1985

Succeeded by 1986