Earlier Civilian Executions
From 1790 to 1950, there were 327 Federal, 271 Territorial and 40 Indian Tribunal executions according to the most complete records. One of those was the execution of James Arcene on June 18, 1885, when he was 23 years old, for his role in a robbery and murder committed when he was 10 years old.
Between 1950 and 1963, 13 people were executed (not counting those executed under military law):
| Executed person | Method of execution | Offense | Date of Execution | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Alderman | hanging | murder on the high seas | August 17, 1929 | Broward County Jail, Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Killed 2 US coastguardsmen and a Secret Service agent |
| Carl Panzram | hanging | murder | September 5, 1930 | United States Penitentiary (USP), Leavenworth, Kansas | Killed a Federal Penitentiary employee. Linked to 4 other murders-claimed to have killed 22 persons |
| George Barrett | hanging | murder | March 24, 1936 | Marion County Jail, Indiana | The first person to receive the death penalty by hanging under a congressional act that made it a capital offense to kill a federal agent. |
| Arthur Gooch | hanging | kidnapping | June 19, 1936 | Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, Oklahoma | |
| Earl Gardner | hanging | murder | July 12, 1936 | Gila County Jail, Arizona | |
| Anthony Chebatoris | hanging | National Bank Robbery | July 8, 1938 | Federal Correctional Institution (FCI), Milan, Michigan | |
| Henry Seadlund | electrocution | kidnapping | July 14, 1938 | Cook County Jail, Illinois | |
| Robert Suhay | hanging | murder | August 12, 1938 | United States Penitentiary (USP), Leavenworth, Kansas | |
| Glenn Applegate | hanging | murder | August 12, 1938 | United States Penitentiary (USP), Leavenworth, Kansas | |
| James Dalhover | electrocution | bank robbery and murder | November 18, 1938 | Indiana State Prison, Michigan City, Indiana | |
|
Nelson Charles |
hanging | murder | November 10, 1939 | Federal Jail, Juneau, Alaska | |
| Herbert Hans Haupt, Heinrich Heinck, Edward Kerling, Herman Neubauer, Richard Quirin, Werner Thiel |
electrocution | sabotage | August 8, 1942 | D.C. Jail, Washington, D.C. | Tried by a military commission appointed by President Roosevelt on July 8, 1942. |
| Clyde Arwood | electrocution | murder | August 14, 1943 | Tennessee State Prison, Nashville, Tennessee | |
| Henry Ruhl | gas chamber | murder on a government reservation | April 27, 1945 | Wyoming State Penitentiary, Rawlins, Wyoming | |
| Austin Nelson | hanging | murder | March 1, 1948 | Federal Jail, Juneau, Alaska | |
| David Joseph Watson | electrocution | murder on the high seas | September 15, 1948 | Florida State Prison, near Raiford, Florida | |
| Samuel Richard Shockley | gas chamber | murder | December 3, 1948 | California State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California | |
| Miran Edgar Thompson | gas chamber | murder | December 3, 1948 | California State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California | |
| Carlos Romero Ochoa | gas chamber | murder | December 10, 1948 | California State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California | |
| Eugene LaMoore | hanging | murder | April 14, 1950 | Federal Jail, Juneau, Alaska | |
| Fred Pritchertt | electrocution | murder | February 15, 1952 | Washington, D.C. | |
| William Tyler Jr. | electrocution | murder | July 25, 1952 | Washington, D.C. | |
| Albert Allen | electrocution | murder/robbery | March 20, 1953 | Washington, D.C. | |
| Julius Rosenberg | electrocution | espionage | June 19, 1953 | New York State Prison, Sing Sing, Ossining, New York | |
| Ethel Rosenberg | electrocution | espionage | June 19, 1953 | New York State Prison, Sing Sing, Ossining, New York | female |
| Carl Austin Hall | gas chamber | kidnapping and murder | December 18, 1953 | Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri | |
| Bonnie Brown Heady | gas chamber | murder | December 18, 1953 | Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri | female |
| Gerhard Puff | electrocution | murder | August 12, 1954 | New York State Prison, Sing Sing, Ossining, New York | |
| Arthur Ross Brown | gas chamber | kidnapping | February 24, 1956 | Missouri State Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri | |
| Robert Carter | electrocution | murder | April 26, 1957 | Washington, D.C. | Convicted of Robbery and murder of an off-duty Washington D.C. police officer who attempted to apprehend Carter right after the robbery. |
| George Krull | electrocution | kidnapping | August 21, 1957 | Georgia State Prison, Reidsville, Georgia | |
| Michael Krull | electrocution | rape | August 21, 1957 | Georgia State Prison, Reidsville, Georgia | |
| Victor Feguer | hanging | kidnapping | March 15, 1963 | Iowa State Penitentiary, Fort Madison, Iowa |
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment By The United States Federal Government
Famous quotes containing the words earlier and/or executions:
“Constant revolutionizing of production ... distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“[Asserting] important First Amendment rights ... why should [executions] be the one area that is conducted behind closed doors?... Why shouldn’t executions be public?”
—Phil Donahue (b. 1935)