List of people executed in Mississippi (pre-1972)

The following is a list of people executed by the U. S. state of Mississippi before 1972, when capital punishment was briefly abolished by the Supreme Court's ruling in Furman v. Georgia. For people executed by Mississippi after capital punishment was restored by the Supreme Court's ruling in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), see List of people executed in Mississippi.

List of people executed in Mississippi before 1972

Name Race Age Sex Date of execution Method Crime Victim(s) Governor Ref.
Gerald Albert Gallego White 26 M March 3, 1955 Gas chamber Murder-Kidnapping Ernest F. Beaugez, 34, white (policeman)[a] Hugh L. White [1]
Allen Donaldson Black 28 M March 4, 1955 Robbery[b] Estelle Foster, 31, white [2]
August Charles LaFontaine White 24 M April 28, 1955 Murder Ralph DeLoach, white (inmate) [3]
John E. Wiggins White 59 M June 20, 1955 Murder Ruth Mack, 36, white (stepdaughter and ex-girlfriend) [4]
Mack C. Lewis Black 21 M June 23, 1955 Murder-Robbery Kenneth L. Mason, white [5]
Walter Johnson Black 18 M August 19, 1955 Rape Female, 20, white [6]
Murry Garfield Gilmore White 32 M December 9, 1955 Murder-Robbery Samuel Coleman Addington, 74, white[c] [7]
Mose Robinson Black 21 M December 18, 1955 Rape Female, white [8]
Robert Buchanan Black 35 M January 3, 1956 Rape-Robbery Female, 30, white [9]
Edgar Keeler Black 38 M January 27, 1956 Murder-Robbery Louis Hutchins James P. Coleman [10]
O.C. McNair Black 24 M February 17, 1956 Murder William Levi Mullican, 64, white (constable) [11]
James Russell Black 32 M April 5, 1956 Murder Alberta Carroll Russell, black (wife) [12]
Dewey Townsel Black 26 M June 22, 1956 Murder Sizzie Townsel, black (wife) [13]
Willie D. Jones Black 31 M July 13, 1956 Murder-Robbery George Fritz, 76, white [14]
Mack Drake Black 35 M November 7, 1956 Rape-Robbery G. D. Fulmer, elderly, white [15]
Henry Jackson Black 21 M November 8, 1956 Murder Ollie Mae Jackson, 19, black (wife) [16]
Minor M. Sorber White 39 M February 8, 1957 Murder Edgar McGraw, white (inmate)[d] [17]
Joe Louis Thompson Black 21 M November 14, 1957 Murder-Robbery J.Z. Jones, 51, white [18]
William Alvin Wetzel White 32 M January 17, 1958 Murder Edgar McGraw, 24, white (inmate) [19]
Jimmy C. Cameron Black 23 M May 28, 1958 Rape Euna Mae Johnson, 21, white[e] [20][21]
Allen Dean Jr. Black 23 M December 19, 1958 Murder-Rape Shirley Ann Hayes, 18 months, black [22]
Nathaniel Young Black 42 M November 10, 1960 Rape Female, 7, black Ross Barnett [23]
William Stokes Black 27 M April 21, 1961 Murder Eula Clark, 45, white [24]
Robert Lee Goldsby Black 35 M May 31, 1961 Murder Moselle McCorkle Nelms, 30, white [25]
J.W. Simmons Black 27 M July 14, 1961 Murder-Robbery Hugh O'Reilly, 68, white [26]
Howard Cook Black 33 M December 19, 1961 Rape-Burglary Mary Evelyn Ledbetter, 24, white [27]
Ellie Lee Black 31 M December 20, 1961 [28]
Willie Wilson Black 22 M May 11, 1962 Rape-Robbery-Burglary Esco Broadus, 33, white [29]
Kenneth M. Slyter White 28 M March 29, 1963 Murder-Rape Sandra Holderfield, 15, white [30]
Willie J. Anderson Black 22 M June 14, 1963 Murder-Robbery Harry Billings, 51, white [31]
Tim Jackson Black 22 M May 1, 1964 Murder-Rape JoAnn Jackson, 8, black[f] Paul B. Johnson Jr. [32]

Demographics

Race
White 7 23%
Black 24 77%
Age
17-19 1 3%
20-29 17 55%
30–39 11 35%
40–49 1 3%
50–59 1 3%
Gender
Male 31 100%
Female 0 0%
Date of execution
1950–1959 21 68%
1960–1969 10 32%
1970–1972 0 0%
Method
Gas chamber 31 100%
Governor (Party)
Hugh L. White (D) 9 29%
James P. Coleman (R) 12 39%
Ross Barnett (R) 9 29%
Paul B. Johnson Jr. (R) 1 3%

See also

Notes

  1. ^ While on death row, Gallego briefly escaped from custody in September 1954, murdering a jailer, 52-year-old J.C. Landrum, in the process. He also confessed to murdering a man in California.
  2. ^ Also attempted to murder the victim by smashing her skull and face with a hammer. The victim was in critical condition for several days.
  3. ^ Also murdered Addington's wife, 76-year-old Demie Addington.
  4. ^ Also confessed to committing a murder-for-hire on behalf of the Mafia in Ohio.
  5. ^ Serial rapist, also raped two other white women, C.T. Travis and Polly Hales.
  6. ^ Also murdered JoAnn's sister, 6-year-old Jacqueline Jackson.

References

  1. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  2. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  3. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  4. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  5. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  6. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  7. ^ "Murray Gilmore, MS, 1955 December 9". archives.albany.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  8. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  9. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  10. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  11. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  12. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  13. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  14. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  15. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  16. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  17. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  18. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  19. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  20. ^ "J. Cameron, MS, 1958 May 28". archives.albany.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  21. ^ "Cameron v. State". Justia Law. 1948-04-28. Retrieved 2025-10-25.
  22. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  23. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  24. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  25. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  26. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  27. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  28. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  29. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  30. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  31. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
  32. ^ "Federal & State Law | Mississippi Department of Corrections".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.