List of people executed in the United States in 1939
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One hundred and sixty-two people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1939, one hundred and eighteen by electrocution, thirty by gas chamber, and fourteen by hanging.[1]
The state of New Hampshire would conduct its most recent execution this year.
Joe Arridy, a severely intellectually disabled man, was controversially executed in Colorado despite strong doubt about his guilt. He was posthumously pardoned in 2011.
List of people executed in the United States in 1939
| No. | Date of execution | Name | Age of person | Gender | Ethnicity | State | Method | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At execution | At offense | Age difference | ||||||||
| 1 | January 5, 1939 | Salvatore Gati | 29 | 28 | 1 | Male | White | New York | Electrocution | [2] |
| 2 | Charles Sberna | |||||||||
| 3 | David Lucas | Black | ||||||||
| 4 | January 6, 1939 | Joseph Arridy | 23 | 21 | 2 | Arab | Colorado | Gas chamber | [3] | |
| 5 | January 11, 1939 | White Miller Tollett | 30 | 29 | 1 | White | Tennessee | Electrocution | [4] | |
| 6 | January 12, 1939 | Vincent Forte | 20 | 18 | 2 | New York | [5] | |||
| 7 | January 17, 1939 | Dominico Nadal | 46 | 45 | 1 | Nevada | Gas chamber | [6] | ||
| 8 | January 19, 1939 | Ernest Stanley | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Tennessee | Electrocution | [1] | ||
| 9 | January 20, 1939 | King Solomon Stovall | 24 | 23 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | ||||
| 10 | LeRoy Hershel McCarthy | 28 | 27 | White | Oregon | [7] | ||||
| 11 | Irving Brooks | 23 | 22 | Black | Virginia | Electrocution | [8] | |||
| 12 | January 25, 1939 | Wilson Wright | 20 | 18 | 2 | Georgia | [9] | |||
| 13 | January 26, 1939 | Arthur Friedman | 21 | 20 | 1 | White | New York | [10] | ||
| 14 | Dominick Guariglia | 19 | 18 | |||||||
| 15 | Joseph O'Laughlin | 23 | 22 | |||||||
| 16 | February 1, 1939 | John William Cline | 25 | 24 | Ohio | [11] | ||||
| 17 | February 3, 1939 | Will Kinard | 38 | 36 | 2 | Black | District of Columbia | [12] | ||
| 18 | February 9, 1939 | Thomas Kirby Gilmore | 42 | 41 | 1 | White | New York | [1] | ||
| 19 | February 10, 1939 | Loren Sylvester Warner | 29 | 24 | 5 | Kentucky | [13] | |||
| 20 | Pearlie Houston Evans | 37 | 36 | 1 | Mississippi | Hanging | [14] | |||
| 21 | John Anderson | 27 | 27 | 0 | Black | Virginia | Electrocution | [15] | ||
| 22 | February 15, 1939 | John Flannery Williamson | 62 | 59 | 3 | White | Missouri | Gas chamber | [16] | |
| 23 | February 16, 1939 | Thomas J. Bohan | 33 | 24 | 9 | New York | Electrocution | [17] | ||
| 24 | Michael Hermanowski | 23 | 22 | 1 | ||||||
| 25 | February 17, 1939 | Fred Ware | 24 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Alabama | [1] | ||
| 26 | Elgie Stephens | 22 | 2 | Louisiana | Hanging | [18] | ||||
| 27 | February 20, 1939 | Paul Fried Bunge | 53 | 52 | 1 | White | Florida | Electrocution | [19] | |
| 28 | February 23, 1939 | Michael Alex | 27 | 26 | New York | [20] | ||||
| 29 | February 24, 1939 | Franklin Pierce McCall Jr. | 22 | 22 | 0 | Florida | [21] | |||
| 30 | February 27, 1939 | William McKinley Blackwell | 41 | 39 | 2 | Black | Pennsylvania | [22] | ||
| 31 | March 3, 1939 | Bonnie Griffin | 23 | 21 | White | Kentucky | [23] | |||
| 32 | Arnold Powell | 22 | 20 | |||||||
| 33 | Frank Tracy | 33 | 33 | 0 | Ohio | [24] | ||||
| 34 | March 6, 1939 | Winzell Williams | 18 | 17 | 1 | Black | Texas | [25] | ||
| 35 | March 10, 1939 | Joseph B. Anderson | 37 | 36 | White | Arkansas | [26] | |||
| 36 | Fred L. Brown | 47 | Unknown | Unknown | Maryland | Hanging | [27] | |||
| 37 | March 17, 1939 | Joe Lee Kennedy | 33 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Alabama | Electrocution | [28] | |
| 38 | Edward Wimbush | 22 | 21 | 1 | [29] | |||||
| 39 | March 24, 1939 | Willie Waters | 47 | 45 | 2 | Kentucky | [30] | |||
| 40 | George B. Wingard | 20 | 18 | White | South Carolina | [31] | ||||
| 41 | William B. Gentry | 24 | 23 | 1 | ||||||
| 42 | Roy D. Suttles | 30 | 28 | 2 | ||||||
| 43 | Herbert H. Moorman | 42 | 40 | |||||||
| 44 | Clayton Crans | 29 | 27 | |||||||
| 45 | John Valentine Bair Jr. | 28 | 1 | |||||||
| 46 | March 27, 1939 | Thomas Roy Lockard | 26 | 23 | 3 | Pennsylvania | [32] | |||
| 47 | March 28, 1939 | Hyman Johnson | 22 | 21 | 1 | Black | Tennessee | [33] | ||
| 48 | Frank Murray | 19 | 18 | |||||||
| 49 | March 31, 1939 | Dave Johnson | 33 | 33 | 0 | Louisiana | Hanging | [34] | ||
| 50 | April 4, 1939 | Hubert Harris | 22 | 21 | 1 | Tennessee | Electrocution | [1] | ||
| 51 | April 7, 1939 | Clarence Bracy | 24 | 23 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [35] | |||
| 52 | Batt DeJournette | 38 | 37 | |||||||
| 53 | Harry Price Williams | 25 | 23 | 2 | Virginia | Electrocution | [1] | |||
| 54 | April 10, 1939 | James Otho Martin | 43 | 42 | 1 | White | Tennessee | [36] | ||
| 55 | Joseph McKay | 39 | 38 | Black | ||||||
| 56 | James Willis Smith | 40 | 38 | 2 | ||||||
| 57 | Harvey T. Nealy | 19 | 18 | 1 | Texas | [37] | ||||
| 58 | April 11, 1939 | Edward Franklin Humphrey | 52 | 50 | 2 | White | South Carolina | [38] | ||
| 59 | April 14, 1939 | Tom Williams | 28 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Alabama | |||
| 60 | Elvin Lyle Wood | 36 | 36 | 0 | White | Illinois | [39] | |||
| 61 | April 15, 1939 | Willie Williams | 33 | 31 | 2 | Black | Tennessee | [1] | ||
| 62 | Jesus Herrera | 48 | 47 | 1 | Hispanic | Texas | [40] | |||
| 63 | April 19, 1939 | Harry Chapman | 37 | 35 | 2 | White | Ohio | [41] | ||
| 64 | Henry Dingledine | 29 | 27 | |||||||
| 65 | Harry B. Dingledine | 56 | 54 | |||||||
| 66 | April 23, 1939 | Genaro Lugo | 23 | 22 | 1 | Hispanic | Texas | [42] | ||
| 67 | James Clifford Miles | 22 | 20 | 2 | Black | |||||
| 68 | April 24, 1939 | Ernest Miles Hipple | 21 | 1 | White | Pennsylvania | [43] | |||
| 69 | April 26, 1939 | Harvey Lafayette Roush | 48 | 47 | Ohio | [44] | ||||
| 70 | April 28, 1939 | Archie Lee Short | 27 | 26 | Arizona | Gas chamber | [45] | |||
| 71 | Robert Kenyon | 23 | 21 | 2 | Missouri | [46] | ||||
| 72 | May 5, 1939 | James Dixon | 38 | 37 | 1 | Black | North Carolina | [1] | ||
| 73 | May 7, 1939 | Bennie Randall | 20 | 19 | Texas | Electrocution | [47] | |||
| 74 | May 9, 1939 | Nick Babich | 54 | 54 | 0 | White | Ohio | [48] | ||
| 75 | May 12, 1939 | Johnny Smith | 30 | 27 | 3 | Black | Florida | [49] | ||
| 76 | May 19, 1939 | Fred Arnell | 18 | 18 | 0 | Arkansas | [1] | |||
| 77 | Fred Dickerson | 35 | 34 | 1 | White | |||||
| 78 | James Ervin | 38 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Texas | ||||
| 79 | May 21, 1939 | Johnny Caesar | 30 | 27 | 3 | [50] | ||||
| 80 | May 26, 1939 | Edward Lee Mattocks | 21 | Unknown | Unknown | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [51] | ||
| 81 | June 3, 1939 | Orelle J. Easton | 26 | 25 | 1 | White | Indiana | Electrocution | [52] | |
| 82 | June 9, 1939 | Ray Anderson | 33 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Alabama | [53] | ||
| 83 | Charles W. White | 51 | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 84 | Grady Tubbs | 23 | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| 85 | Joseph Frazier | 22 | 21 | 1 | ||||||
| 86 | Dave Burney | 47 | 46 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [54] | ||||
| 87 | June 14, 1939 | Willie Caldwell | 23 | 21 | 2 | Ohio | Electrocution | [55] | ||
| 88 | June 16, 1939 | Robert Nixon | 19 | 18 | 1 | Illinois | [56] | |||
| 89 | Ed Alston | Unknown | Unknown | 2 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [57] | |||
| 90 | June 23, 1939 | Harvey Lloyd Nelson | 36 | 35 | 1 | White | Georgia | Electrocution | [58] | |
| 91 | James Reed Swain | 20 | 18 | 2 | Black | Indiana | [59] | |||
| 92 | Joseph Broughton | 40 | 39 | 1 | South Carolina | [60] | ||||
| 93 | June 26, 1939 | Ladell Rhodes | 26 | 25 | Texas | [1] | ||||
| 94 | June 30, 1939 | James Caruthers | 23 | 25 | 5 | Arkansas | [61] | |||
| 95 | Bubbles Clayton | 25 | 20 | |||||||
| 96 | Sylvester Williams | 20 | 0 | |||||||
| 97 | Rafe Lee Walker | 32 | 32 | Texas | [62] | |||||
| 98 | July 7, 1939 | Robert Sanders | 37 | 37 | Alabama | [1] | ||||
| 99 | J.D. Vaughan | 25 | Unknown | Unknown | Georgia | |||||
| 100 | Arvel P. Rice | 20 | 19 | 1 | White | Kentucky | [63] | |||
| 101 | Bricey Hammonds Sr. | 24 | 24 | 0 | Native American | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [64] | ||
| 102 | James Henderson | 20 | 19 | 1 | Black | |||||
| 103 | Alfred Caper | 23 | 22 | |||||||
| 104 | July 12, 1939 | Pang Young | 18 | 17 | Asian | Ohio | Electrocution | [65] | ||
| 105 | July 14, 1939 | Charles H. Smith | 41 | 40 | White | Kentucky | [66] | |||
| 106 | Howard Long | 33 | 31 | 2 | New Hampshire | Hanging | [67] | |||
| 107 | July 21, 1939 | Claud David | 25 | 24 | 1 | California | Gas chamber | [68] | ||
| 108 | Jack Davis | 47 | 46 | Kentucky | Electrocution | [69] | ||||
| 109 | July 25, 1939 | Edward Higgins | 26 | 26 | 0 | Black | [70] | |||
| 110 | July 26, 1939 | Arthur Barker | 35 | 34 | 1 | White | Georgia | [1] | ||
| 111 | July 28, 1939 | Otis McGill | 34 | 33 | South Carolina | [71] | ||||
| 112 | August 2, 1939 | Wallace W. Green | 22 | 21 | Massachusetts | [72] | ||||
| 113 | Walter St. Saveur | 19 | 18 | |||||||
| 114 | August 4, 1939 | Marion Hunter | 25 | 24 | Black | Georgia | [73] | |||
| 115 | Bernhard R. Leuch | 48 | 46 | 2 | White | Washington | Hanging | [74] | ||
| 116 | August 16, 1939 | Adrian Hubert Miller | 31 | 30 | 1 | Indiana | Electrocution | [75] | ||
| 117 | August 18, 1939 | Mack Jackson | 23 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Alabama | [1] | ||
| 118 | Milton Williams | 27 | 27 | 0 | Arkansas | |||||
| 119 | August 24, 1939 | Arthur Perry | 24 | 22 | 2 | New York | [76] | |||
| 120 | August 28, 1939 | Harley Evans | 26 | 24 | White | Tennessee | [77] | |||
| 121 | September 1, 1939 | Arthur Morris | 25 | 23 | Black | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [78] | ||
| 122 | September 4, 1939 | Harvey A. McGraw | 20 | 20 | 0 | White | Florida | Electrocution | [79] | |
| 123 | September 8, 1939 | William Gibson Smith | 25 | 21 | 4 | California | Hanging | [80] | ||
| 124 | September 15, 1939 | Charles Augustine McLachlan | 57 | 56 | 1 | Gas chamber | [81] | |||
| 125 | Paul Leslie Buttry | 39 | 37 | 2 | Washington | Hanging | [82] | |||
| 126 | September 18, 1939 | Earl Clayton Talbott | 19 | 18 | 1 | [83] | ||||
| 127 | September 22, 1939 | Frank Conner | 22 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | Arizona | Gas chamber | [84] | |
| 128 | James Franklin Godwin | 21 | 20 | 1 | White | North Carolina | [1] | |||
| 129 | September 29, 1939 | Angelo Agnes | 33 | 31 | 2 | Black | Colorado | [85] | ||
| 130 | Pete Catalina | 41 | Unknown | Unknown | White | |||||
| 131 | Clarence Sheffield | 36 | 35 | 1 | Black | Georgia | Electrocution | [86] | ||
| 132 | October 6, 1939 | Charles Fain | 26 | 35 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [87] | |||
| 133 | Roy Wright | 19 | 18 | White | Washington | Hanging | [88] | |||
| 134 | October 13, 1939 | Steven Cygan | 35 | 24 | 11 | Illinois | Electrocution | [89] | ||
| 135 | October 20, 1939 | William Green | 39 | 38 | 1 | Black | California | Gas chamber | [90] | |
| 136 | October 23, 1939 | Paul Ferry | 42 | 39 | 3 | White | Pennsylvania | Electrocution | [91] | |
| 137 | Willie Bailey | 36 | 32 | 4 | Black | |||||
| 138 | Ira Bob Redmon | 21 | 20 | 1 | ||||||
| 139 | October 24, 1939 | Grover Cleveland Odom | 51 | 50 | White | South Carolina | [92] | |||
| 140 | October 25, 1939 | Lafayette Williams | 47 | 45 | 2 | Ohio | [93] | |||
| 141 | October 27, 1939 | Charles Price | 28 | 25 | 3 | Black | Illinois | [94] | ||
| 142 | Willie Richardson | 19 | 19 | 0 | North Carolina | Gas chamber | [95] | |||
| 143 | October 28, 1939 | Claude Bowser Jr. | 22 | 21 | 1 | [1] | ||||
| 144 | October 30, 1939 | Charles Golden | 19 | 18 | Pennsylvania | Electrocution | [96] | |||
| 145 | Walter Tankard | 31 | 30 | |||||||
| 146 | November 10, 1939 | Nelson Charles | 38 | 37 | Native American | Federal government | Hanging | [97] | ||
| 147 | November 17, 1939 | Sheppard Bruno | 45 | 44 | Black | Georgia | Electrocution | [1] | ||
| 148 | November 21, 1939 | James Bivins | 19 | Unknown | Unknown | |||||
| 149 | Burton Franklin Williamson | 43 | 42 | 1 | White | Nevada | Gas chamber | [98] | ||
| 150 | November 24, 1939 | Raymond Williams | 20 | 19 | Black | North Carolina | [99] | |||
| 151 | December 8, 1939 | Ralph Verdell Carson | 54 | 52 | 2 | White | Washington | Hanging | [100] | |
| 152 | December 9, 1939 | Harry Leopold | 28 | 27 | 1 | Colorado | Gas chamber | [101] | ||
| 153 | December 15, 1939 | Leamon Steele | Unknown | Unknown | 3 | Black | Mississippi | Hanging | [1] | |
| 154 | Sam Swanson | 27 | 27 | 0 | Virginia | Electrocution | [102] | |||
| 155 | December 16, 1939 | Frank Salazar | 24 | 23 | 1 | Hispanic | Texas | [103] | ||
| 156 | December 18, 1939 | James Fuller | 25 | 25 | 0 | Black | Pennsylvania | [104] | ||
| 157 | Fletcher LeGrand | 22 | 22 | |||||||
| 158 | December 19, 1939 | Harry Lacy | 42 | 38 | 4 | Texas | [105] | |||
| 159 | December 21, 1939 | Theodore Maselkiewicz | 53 | 52 | 1 | White | New York | [106] | ||
| 160 | Everett McDonald | 41 | Unknown | Unknown | Black | |||||
| 161 | Anton Myslivec | 54 | 53 | 1 | White | |||||
| 162 | December 30, 1939 | Warren Lee Simpson | 52 | 2 | Montana | Hanging | [107] | |||
Demographics
| Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 162 | 100% |
| Female | 0 | 0% |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Black | 80 | 49% |
| White | 75 | 46% |
| Hispanic | 3 | 2% |
| Native American | 2 | 1% |
| Arab | 1 | 1% |
| Asian | 1 | 1% |
| State | ||
| North Carolina | 16 | 10% |
| New York | 15 | 9% |
| Texas | 12 | 7% |
| Alabama | 10 | 6% |
| Ohio | 10 | 6% |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 6% |
| South Carolina | 10 | 6% |
| Tennessee | 10 | 6% |
| Georgia | 8 | 5% |
| Kentucky | 8 | 5% |
| Arkansas | 7 | 4% |
| Washington | 5 | 3% |
| California | 4 | 2% |
| Colorado | 4 | 2% |
| Florida | 4 | 2% |
| Illinois | 4 | 2% |
| Virginia | 4 | 2% |
| Indiana | 3 | 2% |
| Arizona | 2 | 1% |
| Louisiana | 2 | 1% |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 1% |
| Mississippi | 2 | 1% |
| Missouri | 2 | 1% |
| Nevada | 2 | 1% |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1% |
| Federal government | 1 | 1% |
| Maryland | 1 | 1% |
| Montana | 1 | 1% |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 1% |
| Oregon | 1 | 1% |
| Method | ||
| Electrocution | 118 | 73% |
| Gas chamber | 30 | 19% |
| Hanging | 14 | 9% |
| Month | ||
| January | 15 | 9% |
| February | 15 | 9% |
| March | 19 | 12% |
| April | 22 | 14% |
| May | 9 | 6% |
| June | 17 | 10% |
| July | 14 | 9% |
| August | 9 | 6% |
| September | 11 | 7% |
| October | 14 | 9% |
| November | 5 | 3% |
| December | 12 | 7% |
| Age | ||
| Unknown | 3 | 2% |
| 10–19 | 13 | 8% |
| 20–29 | 77 | 48% |
| 30–39 | 35 | 22% |
| 40–49 | 22 | 14% |
| 50–59 | 11 | 7% |
| 60–69 | 1 | 1% |
| Total | 162 | 100% |