Historical Background
From 1841 to 1966, 132 people were executed in Oklahoma: 42 prior to statehood and 90 since. One of them Arthur Gooch, was executed by the federal government for kidnapping. Hanging was used by the state until 1911. From 1915 to 1966 the electric chair became the sole method of execution. The federal death row inmate Gooch, however, was hanged in 1936. Only one woman was executed in Oklahoma in pre-Furman period (Dora Wright, a black domestic servant, was hanged on July 17, 1903, before statehood). Oklahoma performed its last pre-Furman electrocution with James French (1966).
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In Oklahoma
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