List of people executed in Pennsylvania

Last updated

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Pennsylvania .

Contents

A total of 1,043 people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1693, [1] [2] the third highest of any other state or commonwealth in the Union, after New York (1,130) and Virginia (1,361). [3]

Until 1915, hanging was the common method of execution. 1915 saw the first use of the electric chair, even though it was approved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1913. The delay was due to the time needed to finish the Western Penitentiary in Centre County, now the State Correctional Institution – Rockview. On November 29, 1990, Governor Casey changed the form of execution to lethal injection. [4]

The last person to be publicly executed in Pennsylvania was Charles Getter, who was hanged on Getter's Island on January 11, 1833. [5]

After 1976

Since the reinstatement of the death penalty by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, 3 men, all convicted of murder, have been executed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All were executed by lethal injection, and in all cases, they waived their appeals and asked that the execution be carried out. [6]

No.NameRaceAgeSexDate of executionMethodVictim(s)Governor
1 Keith William Zettlemoyer White39MMay 2, 1995 Lethal injection Charles DeVetsco Tom Ridge
2 Leon Jerome Moser White52MAugust 16, 1995Linda Moser, Donna Moser, and Joanne Moser
3 Gary Michael Heidnik White55MJuly 6, 1999Deborah Dudley and Sandra Lindsay

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in the United States</span> Legal penalty in the United States

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states currently have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Ohio</span> Legal penalty in Ohio

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Ohio, although all executions have been suspended indefinitely by Governor Mike DeWine until a replacement for lethal injection is chosen by the Ohio General Assembly. The last execution in the state was in July 2018, when Robert J. Van Hook was executed via lethal injection for murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Maryland</span>

Capital punishment was abolished via the legislative process on May 2, 2013, in the U.S. state of Maryland.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Sparky</span> Nickname for electric chairs

Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Old Smokey was the nickname of the electric chairs used in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. "Old Sparky" is sometimes used to refer to electric chairs in general, and not one of a specific state.

An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed. Inside the chamber is the device used to carry out the death sentence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Correctional Institution – Rockview</span>

The State Correctional Institution – Rockview is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections prison located in Benner Township, Pennsylvania, 5 miles (8.0 km) away from Bellefonte. A portion of the prison grounds extends into College Township.

Execution by shooting is a method of capital punishment in which a person is shot to death by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form.

Capital punishment in Connecticut formerly existed as an available sanction for a criminal defendant upon conviction for the commission of a capital offense. Since the 1976 United States Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia until Connecticut repealed capital punishment in 2012, Connecticut had only executed one person, Michael Bruce Ross in 2005. Initially, the 2012 law allowed executions to proceed for those still on death row and convicted under the previous law, but on August 13, 2015, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that applying the death penalty only for past cases was unconstitutional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Mississippi</span> Overview of the use of capital punishment in the U.S. state of Mississippi

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Mississippi.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Arizona. After the execution of Joseph Wood in 2014, executions were temporarily suspended but resumed in 2022. On January 23, 2023, newly inaugurated governor Katie Hobbs ordered a review of death penalty protocols and in light of that, newly inaugurated attorney general Kris Mayes issued a hold on any executions in the state.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Montana.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Between 1718 and 2021, more than 680 people have been executed in South Carolina. After the nationwide capital punishment ban was overturned in 1976, South Carolina has executed 43 people.

Capital punishment is a legal punishment in Pennsylvania. Despite remaining a legal penalty, there have been no executions in Pennsylvania since 1999, and only three since 1976. In February 2015, Governor Tom Wolf announced a formal moratorium on executions that is still in effect as of 2023, with incumbent Governor Josh Shapiro continuing Wolf's moratorium. However, capital crimes are still prosecuted and death warrants are still issued.

References

  1. ↑ "Executions in Pennsylvania - 1693-1800". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
  2. ↑ "Executions in Pennsylvania - 1921-1962". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
  3. ↑ "US Executions from 1608-2002". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
  4. ↑ "Pennsylvania Department of Corrections - History of the Death Penalty". www.cor.state.pa.us. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  5. ↑ See a bird's-eye view of Getter's Island, now for sale in Easton
  6. ↑ "Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved December 27, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.