List of people executed in the United States in 1948

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One hundred and seventeen people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1948, eighty-nine by electrocution, twenty by gas chamber, and eight by hanging.[1]

List of people executed in the United States in 1948

[edit]
No. Date of execution Name Age of person Gender Ethnicity State Method Ref.
At execution At offense Age difference
1 January 2, 1948 Joe Porter 27 27 0 Male Black Georgia Electrocution [1]
2 Leroy Scrutchens 37 37
3 Frank Black 20 Unknown Unknown North Carolina Gas chamber
4 Earnest Howard 25 25 0 South Carolina Electrocution [2]
5 Lonnie Harvey Cline 28 26 2 White Texas [3]
6 Paul William Burton 33 33 0 West Virginia Hanging [4]
7 January 5, 1948 Reuben Harper 30 29 1 Black Florida Electrocution [5]
8 January 8, 1948 Jauvham Jackson 18 Unknown Unknown New York [1]
9 January 9, 1948 Irvin Mattio 15 3 Louisiana
10 Willie Edward Gidron 19 18 1 South Carolina [6]
11 January 16, 1948 John Henry Breeze Unknown Unknown 2 North Carolina Gas chamber [7]
12 January 23, 1948 Jesse Lee Dickerson 22 Unknown Mississippi Electrocution [1]
13 Wardell Heath Henderson 27 25 2 Oregon Gas chamber [8]
14 Sam Baldwin 35 35 0 Virginia Electrocution [1]
15 January 26, 1948 Jose Sanchez Sanchez 28 26 2 Hispanic California Gas chamber [9]
16 January 30, 1948 George McKinley Sexton 21 20 1 Black Ohio Electrocution [10]
17 Mark R. McCauley 36 35 White West Virginia Hanging [11]
18 February 4, 1948 Nolan Edwin West 25 Unknown Unknown Texas Electrocution [1]
19 February 13, 1948 James Harold Hyde 27 26 1 Arkansas [12]
20 Eddie Brown Jr. 23 23 0 Black Georgia [13]
21 February 16, 1948 J. W. Torbert 37 36 1 [14]
22 February 20, 1948 Thomas Henry McMonigle 33 31 2 White California Gas chamber [15]
23 February 27, 1948 Luther Williams 27 27 0 Black Kentucky Electrocution [16]
24 March 1, 1948 Austin Archibald Nelson 29 28 1 Federal government Hanging [17]
25 March 5, 1948 James Mangum 18 16 2 Georgia Electrocution [1]
26 March 12, 1948 Floyd Dace 22 21 1 Ohio [18]
27 March 19, 1948 Noel Jackson Grant Sr. 40 39 White Alabama [19]
28 John Henry Munson Jr. 28 26 2 Black [20]
29 March 26, 1948 L. P. Campbell 25 24 1 Georgia [1]
30 William Stewart 40 39 Mississippi [21]
31 March 28, 1948 Bennie Louis Johnson 25 23 2 Texas [1]
32 Clayton Homer Rushing 26 25 1 White [22]
33 April 9, 1948 John J. Peterson 41 37 4 California Gas chamber [23]
34 April 12, 1948 Robert Bradley 37 35 2 Black Connecticut Electrocution [24]
35 April 16, 1948 George Isby 26 24 California Gas chamber [25]
36 April 22, 1948 Buster Hooks Unknown Unknown 0 North Carolina [26]
37 John T. Kelley 21 20 1 White Tennessee Electrocution [27]
38 James Daniel Sandusky Jr. 20 19
39 April 23, 1948 Joseph Bessar Jr. 22 19 3 Black Louisiana [28]
40 Wilbert Powell 21 18
41 Booker Anderson 29 28 1 North Carolina Gas chamber [1]
42 James J. Brooks 24 22 2 New Jersey Electrocution [29]
43 Kenneth Robert Salter 34 32 White Ohio [30]
44 John Major Brooks 27 26 1 Black Virginia [31]
45 April 25, 1948 Willie Sims 36 33 3 Texas [1]
46 April 30, 1948 Herbert Hopkins Unknown Unknown 0 Louisiana [32]
47 Henry Tilghman Jackson 32 28 4 Maryland Hanging [1]
48 Roy Lee Lathco 39 Unknown Unknown White [33]
49 Ollie Smith Jr. 22 21 1 Black [34]
50 May 7, 1948 James Leroy Jackson 42 42 0 North Carolina Gas chamber [35]
51 May 25, 1948 Lewis Grayson 31 28 3 Oklahoma Electrocution [1]
52 May 28, 1948 Paul Charles Winton 51 51 0 Native American California Gas chamber [36]
53 June 4, 1948 George Hammond 30 29 1 Black North Carolina [37]
54 Henderson Wilson 27 26
55 June 14, 1948 Alexander Harley Wiles 41 39 2 White Florida Electrocution [38]
56 June 18, 1948 Wallis Hamburg 22 21 1 Mississippi [39]
57 June 25, 1948 Edward Spriggs Jr. 21 Unknown Unknown Black Louisiana [1]
58 Monroe Gipson 19 18 1 Mississippi [40]
59 June 29, 1948 Marvin Murray 24 22 2 [41]
60 July 1, 1948 Anthony R. Papa 27 26 1 White New York [42]
61 July 2, 1948 Edward Pugh 20 19 Black Arkansas [1]
62 Rufus Willis Unknown Unknown Mississippi
63 Clifford William Gayles 34 34 0 Ohio [43]
64 July 9, 1948 Joseph Lee Saulter 33 32 1 White Texas [1]
65 July 12, 1948 Grant Holley 48 46 2 Black Pennsylvania [44]
66 July 16, 1948 Elmer Curnutt 21 21 0 White Ohio [45]
67 July 18, 1948 John Amos Coleman 57 Unknown Unknown Black Texas [1]
68 July 22, 1948 Lester Haughton 24 22 2 New York [46]
69 George Cornelius Moore 34 32
70 July 30, 1948 Jasper Nease 24 23 1 White Kentucky [47]
71 August 1, 1948 Henry Brown 23 Unknown Unknown Black Texas [1]
72 August 13, 1948 Red Lamar Nunn 43 42 1 Georgia
73 August 16, 1948 Sam Whitt Jr. 22 Unknown Unknown [48]
74 August 20, 1948 Donald E. Frohner 18 16 2 White Ohio [49]
75 Riley Brown McCaine 43 40 3 Texas [1]
76 August 23, 1948 Alonzo Washington Jr. 26 26 0 Black Florida
77 August 24, 1948 Cleo Smith 29 Unknown Unknown Texas
78 August 31, 1948 Thomas Howard Taylor 33 32 1 Tennessee [50]
79 James Monroe Scribner 23 22
80 William J. C. Turner 21 20
81 September 6, 1948 Elbert Eugene Harper 30 29 Florida [51]
82 Alfonso Enmond 35 35 0
83 September 15, 1948 David Joseph Watson 24 22 2 Federal government [52]
84 September 16, 1948 John Henry Reilly 33 31 White New York [53]
85 Milton Shaket 34 32
86 September 17, 1948 Lawrence Davis 29 28 1 Black South Carolina [1]
87 September 23, 1948 Matthew Perison 31 31 0 West Virginia Hanging [54]
88 September 27, 1948 Ben Gould 40 40 Oklahoma Electrocution [1]
89 September 28, 1948 George Cole 25 23 2 New Jersey [55]
90 George Hicks 23 21
91 October 1, 1948 Joseph A. Trujillo 30 28 Hispanic California Gas chamber [56]
92 October 3, 1948 Andrew Hill 23 Unknown Unknown Black Texas Electrocution [1]
93 October 5, 1948 Lonnie Lee Talley 25 24 1 Florida
94 October 11, 1948 William Rumage 30 22 8 White Pennsylvania
95 October 15, 1948 Arthur Robert Eggers 54 51 3 California Gas chamber [57]
96 J. B. Beetles 32 31 1 Black Georgia Electrocution [58]
97 William Cular Davis 55 54
98 Lemuel Thomas Steed 28 28 0 West Virginia Hanging [1]
99 October 25, 1948 Lacy Stewart 19 17 2 Florida Electrocution [59]
100 Nathaniel Henry Strain 26 17 9 Ohio [60]
101 October 29, 1948 Johnnie James 30 Unknown Unknown Virginia [1]
102 November 5, 1948 Jewell Jay Eller 21 19 2 White Georgia [61]
103 Charlie Corn Garrett 26 25 1
104 Daniel Troy McPeak 22 21 Kentucky [62]
105 November 8, 1948 Daniel Peter Taranow 24 23 Pennsylvania [63]
106 November 19, 1948 James Pete West 21 20 Black North Carolina Gas chamber [1]
107 November 26, 1948 L. C. Brown 25 25 0 Georgia Electrocution
108 December 1, 1948 Timothy Iron Bear 24 22 2 Native American Nebraska [64]
109 December 3, 1948 Samuel Richard Shockley 39 37 White Federal government Gas chamber [65]
110 Miran Edgar Thompson 30 28
111 Matthew Jamison 18 18 0 Black South Carolina Electrocution [1]
112 December 10, 1948 Carlos Romero Ochoa 29 27 2 Hispanic Federal government Gas chamber [66]
113 Jesse James Patton 23 21 Black District of Columbia Electrocution [67]
114 Reginald Joseph Wheeler 28 26
115 Eugene Raist Cooper 21 20 1 Mississippi [1]
116 December 31, 1948 Robert F. Mehaffey 38 37 White California Gas chamber [68]
117 Leroy Grant Troy 22 22 0 Black South Carolina Electrocution [1]

Demographics

[edit]
Gender
Male 117 100%
Female 0 0%
Ethnicity
Black 80 68%
White 32 27%
Hispanic 3 3%
Native American 2 2%
State
Georgia 13 11%
Texas 11 9%
California 8 7%
North Carolina 8 7%
Florida 7 6%
Mississippi 7 6%
Ohio 7 6%
New York 6 5%
Federal government 5 4%
Louisiana 5 4%
South Carolina 5 4%
Tennessee 5 4%
West Virginia 4 3%
Kentucky 3 3%
Maryland 3 3%
New Jersey 3 3%
Pennsylvania 3 3%
Virginia 3 3%
Alabama 2 2%
Arkansas 2 2%
District of Columbia 2 2%
Oklahoma 2 2%
Connecticut 1 1%
Nebraska 1 1%
Oregon 1 1%
Method
Electrocution 89 76%
Gas chamber 20 17%
Hanging 8 7%
Month
January 17 15%
February 6 5%
March 9 8%
April 17 15%
May 3 3%
June 7 6%
July 11 9%
August 10 9%
September 10 9%
October 11 9%
November 6 5%
December 10 9%
Age
Unknown 3 3%
10–19 8 7%
20–29 63 54%
30–39 30 26%
40–49 9 8%
50–59 4 3%
Total 117 100%

Executions in recent years

[edit]
Number of executions
1949 120
1948 117
1947 158
Total 395

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  2. ^ "Negro to Die in Chair in Columbia Today". Herald-Journal. January 2, 1948. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Cline v. State". vLex.
  4. ^ "Slayer Sings Before Execution". The Pittsburgh Press. January 3, 1948. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Negro Seized In Rape Case". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 10, 1946. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Electrocution Slated". Sarasota Herald-Journal. January 9, 1948. p. 6.
  7. ^ "Slayer Who Got Yule Reprieve Is Executed". Reading Eagle. January 16, 1948. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Death Penalty Opposition Set". Eugene Register-Guard. January 24, 1948. p. 1.
  9. ^ "People v. Sanchez". Justia Law.
  10. ^ "Ohio Slayer Executed; Gave Eyes To Blind Vets". Toledo Blade. January 31, 1948. p. 1.
  11. ^ "McCauley Due To Be Hanged At 9 Tonight". Williamson Daily News. January 30, 1948. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Eyes Of Killer Left To Blind". St. Joseph Gazette. February 14, 1948. p. 5.
  13. ^ "Negro Sentenced To Be Executed". The Tuscaloosa News. January 25, 1948. p. 12.
  14. ^ "Torbert v. State". vLex.
  15. ^ "McMonigle Goes To Gas Chamber Death". Lodi News-Sentinel. February 21, 1948. p. 7.
  16. ^ "Negro to Die Friday for Raping White Woman". Messenger-Inquirer via newspapers.com. February 26, 1948. p. 19.
  17. ^ "Negro Murderer Hanged At Juneau". Ellensburg Daily Record. March 1, 1948. p. 1.
  18. ^ "Third Dice-Game Murderer To Die". Toledo Blade. March 12, 1948. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Wife Who Nagged Man Crazy Fails to Save Him from Chair". The Pittsburgh Press. March 19, 1948. p. 10.
  20. ^ "Negro Granted Reprieve". The Tuscaloosa News. March 10, 1948. p. 5.
  21. ^ "Stewart v. State". vLex.
  22. ^ "Must Die For Killing Three". St. Joseph Gazette. January 23, 1948. p. 21.
  23. ^ "People v. Peterson". Stanford Law School.
  24. ^ "Triple Murderer Calmly Goes to Death in Chair". The Day. April 13, 1948. p. 4.
  25. ^ "People v. Isby". FindLaw.
  26. ^ "State v. Hooks". vLex.
  27. ^ "2 Slayers Executed; Eye Bequest Failed". The Washington Daily News via newspapers.com. April 22, 1948. p. 4.
  28. ^ "State v. Bessar". vLex.
  29. ^ "Wife Prays, Brooks Calm as He Walks 'Last Mile'". The Afro-American. May 8, 1948. p. 31.
  30. ^ "Rape-Slayer of Girl Dies in Ohio Chair". Middlesboro Daily News. April 24, 1948. p. 1.
  31. ^ "Rape-Slayer of Girl Dies in Ohio Chair". Spokane Daily Chronicle. April 23, 1948. p. 22.
  32. ^ "Three Negroes Murdered in Brutal Crime Here". The Assumption Pioneer via newspapers.com. November 21, 1947. p. 1.
  33. ^ "Asks Clemency". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. February 1, 1948. p. 10.
  34. ^ "Condemned Man Begs Governor Lane to Spare His Life". Baltimore Afro-American. February 14, 1948. p. 1.
  35. ^ "State v. Jackson". vLex.
  36. ^ "People v. Winton". Stanford Law School.
  37. ^ "State v. Hammond". vLex.
  38. ^ "Must Die Today". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. June 14, 1948. p. 1.
  39. ^ "Hamburg v. State". vLex.
  40. ^ "Gipson v. State". vLex.
  41. ^ "Mississippi Court Upholds Segregation". Times Daily. January 14, 1948. p. 1.
  42. ^ "Vet Held in Murder of Girl, 5". Nassau Daily Review-Star. April 21, 1947. p. 1.
  43. ^ "Confessed Killer Of Two Executed". Toledo Blade. July 3, 1948. p. 2.
  44. ^ "Commonwealth v. Holley". CourtListener.
  45. ^ "Convicted Man Goes To Chair With Prayer". Kentucky New Era. July 20, 1948. p. 2.
  46. ^ "2 WIN DEATH STAY IN BRONX KILLING; High Court Orders New Trial Based on Negroes' Exclusion From Blue Ribbon Jury". The New York Times. December 23, 1947.
  47. ^ "Nease Dies In Electric Chair In Robbery-Slaying of Hodge". The Courier-Journal via newspapers.com. July 30, 1948. p. 23.
  48. ^ "Whitt v. State". CaseMine.
  49. ^ "State v. Frohner". CourtListener.
  50. ^ "Three Negroes Are Electrocuted On Rape Count". The Tuscaloosa News. August 31, 1948. p. 2.
  51. ^ "Two Negroes Die in Chair". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. September 7, 1948. p. 3.
  52. ^ "Negro Slayer Electrocuted At Raiford". The Miami Herald via newspapers.com. September 7, 1948. p. 3.
  53. ^ "SLAYER'S KIN SEEK 3D MAN IN HOLD-UP; $5,000 Reward Offered by the Family of Milton Shaket for Apprehension of Fugitive". The New York Times. September 10, 1948.
  54. ^ "Ax-Slayer of Three Hanged in West Va". The Pittsburgh Press. September 24, 1948. p. 25.
  55. ^ "2 Executed For Holdup Murder". Gettysburg Times. September 29, 1948. p. 3.
  56. ^ "People v. Trujillo". Justia Law.
  57. ^ "Former Sheriff's Clerk Executed For Slaying Wife". The San Bernardino County Sun via newspapers.com. October 16, 1948. p. 11.
  58. ^ "Georgia Plans Big Execution". The Telegraph-Herald. October 15, 1948. p. 14.
  59. ^ "Negro Slayer To Die". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. October 17, 1948. p. 14.
  60. ^ "Execution Tonight". Williamson Daily News. October 25, 1948. p. 6.
  61. ^ "2 Convicted Killers Denied Commutation". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. November 5, 1948. p. 1.
  62. ^ "Robber-Slayer Is Electrocuted". The Free Lance-Star. November 5, 1948. p. 2.
  63. ^ "Bridegroom, 23, Dies for Slaying". The Tuscaloosa News. November 8, 1948. p. 18.
  64. ^ "Young Indian Is Executed". The Telegraph-Herald. December 1, 1948. p. 12.
  65. ^ "Gas Takes Lives of Alcatraz Pair". The Lewiston Daily Sun. December 4, 1948. p. 5.
  66. ^ "Border Patrolman Slayer Goes To Death In Chamber". Lodi News-Sentinel. December 11, 1948. p. 5.
  67. ^ "Two Slayers Executed". Reading Eagle. December 10, 1948. p. 26.
  68. ^ "People v. Mehaffey". Stanford Law School.
Preceded by
1947 		   List of people executed   
   in the United States in   
1948 		Succeeded by
1949