A total of 103 executions have been recorded in New Mexico. 4 during the Spanish Colonial era (1598–1821), none during the Mexican era (1821–1846), 51 during the Territorial era (1846–1913), 20 by the U.S. Military during the Taos Rebellion (1847), 27 between 1913 and 1960, when the death penalty was removed except for the murder of a police officer, and 1 since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated; it remained until March 18, 2009, when Governor Bill Richardson signed a bill abolishing capital punishment into law after many struggles with the issues in previous weeks. Following this repeal, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White began campaign for repeal the repeal by referendum.
94 of the executions were by method of hanging, 7 by electrocution, 1 by gas chamber, and 1 by lethal injection. 2 of the hanged, "Black Jack" Ketchum in 1901 and Lucius Hightower in 1916, were accidentally decapitated by the noose due to their weight. The death sentences of five convicts were commuted by Governor Toney Anaya in 1986, on the eve of Thanksgiving.
The following is a list of the 28 executions carried out by the state of New Mexico since 1912. After 1976, only one volunteer was executed.
| # | Executed person | Date of execution | Method | Murder victim | Under Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivory Frazer | April 25, 1913, 4:52 AM | Hanging | A Deputy Sheriff (name unknown), Al Smithers | William C. McDonald |
| 2 | Francisco Granado | April 25, 1913, 4:52 AM | Hanging | William S. Clark | |
| 3 | Demecio Delgadillo | May 16, 1913, 5:09 AM | Hanging | Soledad Zarrazino de Pino | |
| 4 | Francisco Alvarez | June 9, 1916 | Hanging | 24 people in the raid led by Pancho Villa on Columbus, New Mexico | |
| 5 | Juan Sanchez | June 9, 1916 | Hanging | ||
| 6 | Taurino Garcia | June 30, 1916 | Hanging | ||
| 7 | Eusiero Renteria | June 30, 1916 | Hanging | ||
| 8 | Juan Castillo | June 30, 1916 | Hanging | ||
| 9 | Jose Rangel | June 30, 1916 | Hanging | ||
| 10 | Lucius Hightower | November 13, 1916 | Hanging | Mrs. Hightower | |
| 11 | Julian Romero | April 11, 1918 | Hanging | Maria Varela de Jaure | Washington E. Lindsey |
| 12 | Elbert Blancett | July 20, 1920 | Hanging | Clyde D. Amour | Octaviano Larrazolo |
| 13 | Eleuterio Corral | January 20, 1922 | Hanging | Ventura Bencomo | Merritt C. Mechem |
| 14 | Rumaldo Losano | January 20, 1922 | Hanging | Ventura Bencomo | |
| 15 | Luis Medrano | July 28, 1922 | Hanging | Anton Coury | |
| 16 | Ysidero Miranda | July 28, 1922 | Hanging | ||
| 17 | Carlos Renteria | July 28, 1922 | Hanging | ||
| 18 | Steve Katonka | October 20, 1922 | Hanging | William Kelly, Sam Groy | |
| 19 | Franciso Vaisa | April 6, 1923, 5:30 AM | Hanging | Anton Coury | James F. Hinkle |
| 20 | Thomas Johnson | July 21, 1933, 12:38 AM | Electrocution | Angelina Jaramillo | Arthur Seligman |
| 21 | Santiago Garduno | July 21, 1933, 1:12 AM | Electrocution | Filemon Martinez | |
| 22 | Pedro Talamante | May 10, 1946, 12:10 AM | Electrocution | Mrs. Talamante | John J. Dempsey |
| 23 | Louis Young | June 13, 1947, 12:07 AM | Electrocution | Eloise Kennedy | Thomas J. Mabry |
| 24 | Arthur Fay Johnson | February 19, 1954, 12:09 AM | Electrocution | William Cabrel | Edwin L. Mechem |
| 25 | Frederick W. Heisler | October 29, 1954, 12:15 AM | Electrocution | John Gunnish | |
| 26 | James Larry Upton | February 12, 1956, 12:09 AM | Electrocution | Donald Dilley | John F. Simms |
| 27 | David Cooper Nelson | August 11, 1960, 12:20 AM | Gas Chamber | Ralph Henderson Rainey | John Burroughs |
| 28 | Terry D. Clark | November 6, 2001, 7:10 PM | Lethal Injection | Dena Lynn Gore | Gary Johnson |
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“Is this what all these soldiers, all this training, have been for these seventy-nine years past? Have they been trained merely to rob Mexico and carry back fugitive slaves to their masters?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)