Presidential Assassins
| Executed person | Date of execution | Method | President Assassinated | Under President |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Atzerodt | July 7, 1865 | hanging | Abraham Lincoln | Andrew Johnson |
| David Herold | July 7, 1865 | hanging | Abraham Lincoln | Andrew Johnson |
| Lewis Powell | July 7, 1865 | hanging | Abraham Lincoln | Andrew Johnson |
| Mary Surratt | July 7, 1865 | hanging | Abraham Lincoln | Andrew Johnson |
| Charles J. Guiteau | June 30, 1882 | hanging | James Garfield | Chester A. Arthur |
The assassinations of Lincoln and Garfield were prosecuted by the federal government because they took place in the District of Columbia. The assassin of William McKinley, Leon Czolgosz was tried and executed for murder by New York state authorities. The accused assassin of John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, would presumably have been tried for murder by Texas state authorities had he not been killed by Jack Ruby. Only after Kennedy's death was it made a federal crime to murder the President of the United States.
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment By The United States Federal Government
Famous quotes containing the words presidential and/or assassins:
“The Republican Vice Presidential Candidate ... asks you to place him a heartbeat from the Presidency.”
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965)
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—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)