List of people executed by the District of Columbia

Capital punishment in the District of Columbia has been abolished since 1981. However, a number of executions were carried out under the District's jurisdiction before then.

Before 1973, the District of Columbia was exclusively governed by Congress, which included establishing all local laws. Until 1962, the District of Columbia was the last jurisdiction in the United States with mandatory death sentences for first degree murder (the last U.S. state with mandatory death sentences for first degree murder was Vermont). Mandatory death sentences were abolished by the HR5143 (PL87-423), signed into law by President John F. Kennedy on March 22, 1962. Rape was also a capital offense.

The D.C. capital punishment law was nullified by the Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia in 1972 and formally repealed by the D.C. Council in 1981.

The first recorded execution in the District of Columbia, was the hanging of James McGirk in 1802. Hanging was the method of execution used in the District until 1928, when it was replaced with electrocution. The last execution under the authority of the District was that of Robert Carter in 1957. All executions were conducted at the D.C. Jail.

The president of the United States has sole pardoning power in the District.

List of non-federal executions in the District of Columbia Name Race Age Date of Execution CrimeVictim(s) PresidentJames McGirkWhite?October 28, 1802MurderFemale, white (wife)Thomas JeffersonPatrickBlack?March 11, 1813Attempted rapeFemale, whiteJames MadisonDaniel WoodwardWhite?September 2, 1853MurderFemale, white (wife)Daniel Woodward, DC, 1853 September 2, Espy ArchiveFranklin PierceJames W. PowersWhite19June 26, 1858MurderEdward Lutz, whiteJames Powers, DC, 1858 June 26, Espy ArchiveJames BuchananCornelius TuellWhite?July 8, 1864MurderFemale, white (wife)Abraham LincolnJames GradyWhite33March 24, 1871Murder-Rape-BurglaryFanny Faulkner, 75, whiteUlysses S. GrantGeorge W. JenkinsBlack24October 31, 1872MurderLavinia Boston Jenkins, 20, black (wife)Barney WoodsWhite37December 6, 1872MurderSamuel M. Cheeseman, 47, whiteCharles JohnsonBlack32December 10, 1872MurderJane Eliza Johnson, 28, black (wife)Thomas WrightBlack21June 6, 1873Murder-RobberySamuel Rogerski, 40, whiteHenry YoungBlack27November 28, 1873Murder-RobberyAmos Franklin Hahn, 24, whiteJames M. W. StoneBlack35April 2, 1880MurderAlberta Pitcher Stone, 29, black (wife)Rutherford B. HayesEdward QueenanBlack19November 19, 1880Murder-RobberyGeorge Phillip Hearth, 22, whiteJoseph BedfordBlack20Charles Julius GuiteauWhite40June 30, 1882MurderJames A. Garfield, 49, white (president)Chester A. ArthurCharles ShawBlack19January 19, 1883MurderSusannah Shaw Carter, 22, black (sister)John LangsterBlack21May 15, 1885MurderJohn H. Fowler, 42, white (police officer) Grover ClevelandLouis SommerfieldWhite54April 30, 1886MurderChristiana Sommerfield and Gottlieb Eisenhaum, 52 and 43, white (wife and son-in-law)Richard LeeBlack32MurderMary Powell Lee, 30, wife (black)Antonio NardelloWhite22May 28, 1886Murder-RobberyCarmine Rotunno, 50+, whiteNelson ColbertBlack23May 17, 1889MurderPhilip Wentzell, 74, whiteBenjamin HarrisonBenjamin HawkinsBlack29May 29, 1890MurderCora Hawkins, 26, black (wife)Howard J. SchneiderWhite24March 17, 1893MurderAmanda Hamlink Schneider, 22, white (wife)Grover ClevelandThomas CrumptonBlack43April 27, 1894MurderDavid Shanklin, 24, blackJames L. TraversBlack24July 19, 1895MurderLena Gross, 20, black (girlfriend) Joseph A. BeamWhite56July 26, 1895MurderAnnie Goetz Leahy, 35, white (stepdaughter)John HarrisBlack23February 14, 1896MurderMatthew Spruell, 35, blackIrvin I. FordBlack30June 26, 1896Murder-Attempted rapeElsie A. Kreglo, 16, whiteCharles WinstonBlack24May 5, 1899MurderEmma Winston, 31, black (wife)William McKinleyWilliam StrathersBlack25MurderRose Talbot, 26, black (girlfriend)Edward SmithBlack47May 12, 1899MurderEdmonia Jackson, 32, black (love interest)George W. HortonWhite51December 8, 1899MurderJane Nicholson, 31, white (girlfriend) Benjamin H. Snell White 42 June 29, 1900 MurderLizzie Weisenberger, 13, white Nelson Vale Black 69 July 6, 1900 MurderAlexander Jackson, 29, black Frank W. Funk White 25 November 9, 1900 Murder-BurglaryWilliam H. Brooks, 73, white Elijah Chapman Black 33 May 23, 1902 MurderIda Simms, 25, black (common-law wife) Theodore Roosevelt John T. St. Clair Black 26 January 30, 1903 MurderDaisy Madre, 24, black (girlfriend) Benjamin G. Hill White 52 July 24, 1903 MurderCarrie Marsden Hill, 41, white (wife) John W. Burley Black 52 August 26, 1904 RapeAdeline Taylor, 4, black Augustus L. Shaffer White 39 February 10, 1905 MurderKatherine Ivey Shaffer, 31, white (ex-wife) William W. Hamilton Black 27 February 2, 1906 MurderMary Elizabeth Butler, 27, black (common-law wife) Charles Edward Grant Black 21 November 16, 1906 MurderEva Barnes, 20, black (common-law wife) William Burge Black 23 April 23, 1907 MurderDaisy Jordan Burge, 19, black (wife) Joseph Paolucci White 33 March 23, 1908 MurderElizabeth V. Dodge, 17, white (ex-girlfriend) Albert Brown Black 23 June 29, 1908 MurderHarvey Brown, 24, black Richard Gregory Black 37 February 15, 1909 MurderWilliam A. Garner, 32, black Samuel Rauen White 26 February 14, 1913 Murder Azalea Elizabeth Rauen and John M. Rauen, 19 and 23, white (wife and brother) William Howard Taft Nathaniel Green Black 23 June 9, 1913 RapeAdelaine E. Grant, 37, white Woodrow Wilson James F. Allen Black 36 September 12, 1917 MurderFlora Allen, 36, black (wife) James H. Jackson Black 27 March 2, 1920 MurderLillian Palma Hood, 22, white Frank Bowman Black 39 October 22, 1920 MurderClarence J. Keefer, 26, white William H. Campbell Black 22 March 11, 1921 Murder-RobberyGertrude Harrison Mann, 46, white Warren Harding John McHenry White 24 March 17, 1922 Murder-RobberyJames E. Armstrong, 41, white (police officer) Ernest A. Shands Black 27 March 9, 1923 MurderCatherine Spriggs Shands, 28, black (wife) George S. Banton Black 20 April 20, 1923 Murder-RobberySamuel A. Frye, 39, white Charles Price Black 32 May 3, 1923 MurderRobert Smith, 50, black George S. Epps Black 31 May 24, 1923 MurderKatie Epps, 31, black (wife) Rufus Gordon Black 37 June 23, 1923 Murder-RobberySimon Miller, 30, white Ralph Thomas Black 42 January 15, 1925 MurderSadie Thomas, 26, black (wife) Calvin Coolidge Herbert L. Copeland Black 50 January 22, 1925 MurderDavid T. Dunigan, 63, white (police officer) Philip Jackson Black 30 May 29, 1928 Rape-RobberyDaisy Welling, 35, white Nicholas L. Eagles White 31 June 22, 1928 MurderLeo W. Karl Busch, 28, white (police officer)Memorial to Leo W. Busch. Washington, DC MPD Police Memorial & Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://www.dcpolicememorial.org/fallen-1926-busch-l/ Samuel Mareno White 21 John C. Proctor White 19 Andrew J. Hawkins Black 33 June 5, 1930 Murder Ruth Watkins, 21, black (girlfriend) Herbert Hoover Cardoza Bell Black 24 March 6, 1931 MurderAlice Metz, 25, black (girlfriend) Alfred S. Aldridge Black 28 May 6, 1932 Murder-RobberyHarold J. McDonald, 30, white (police officer)Memorial to Harry J. McDonald. Washington, DC MPD Police Memorial & Museum, https://www.dcpolicememorial.org/fallen-1929-mcdonald-h/ Franklin D. Roosevelt John Borum Black 26 June 29, 1932 MurderLamar Watson York, 36, white (Prohibition agent)Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- Lamar W. York. Retrieved 2021, November 26, from https://www.atf.gov/our-history/fallen-agents/lamar-w-york. John Logan Black 24 Charles Morris Black 33 March 12, 1932 MurderMaggie Landon, 32, black (wife) William C. Robinson Black 20 October 27, 1933 Murder-RobberyEmanuel Solomon, 29, white Charles Washington Black 23 November 24, 1933 Benjamin Montague Black 29 December 1, 1933 MurderClara Williams, 36, black (common-law wife) Ralph E. Holmes Black 25 January 12, 1934 MurderMilo John Kennedy, 28, white (park police officer)National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. 2019, OFC. Milo J. Kennedy. Officer Milo J. Kennedy, U.S. Park Police, https://usppfop.org/officer-milo-john-kennedy/ Joseph J. Jackson Black 20 Irvin Murray Black 26 Ernest H. Bolden Black 25 April 27, 1934 MurderElsie Plummer Bolden, 20, black (wife) Joe Goodman Black 38 June 1, 1934 Murder-BurglaryWilliam Simms, 65, black George Pitmond Black 34 Albert Preston Black 38 March 20, 1936 MurderClarence E. Yancey, 29, black John R. Cummings Black 29 April 23, 1937 Murder-RobberyJoseph R. Wushnak, 42, white Willett Marcus Black 23 Norman W. Robinson Black 29 March 18, 1938 Murder-RapeFlorence Daugherty Goodwin, 34, white Will Kinard Black 38 February 2, 1939 MurderLaura Kinard, 27, black (wife) William I. Robinson Black 34 October 9, 1942 RapeElaine Caywood Henry, 15, white William T. Mumford Black 22 December 18, 1942 Murder-RobberyFannie Cohen, 56, white Jarvis T. R. Catoe Black 38 January 15, 1943 Murder-RapeRose Simons Abramowitz, 25, white Monroe D. Neely Black 37 December 14, 1945 MurderCharles Riley Johnston, 24, white (police officer)"Memorial to Charles R. Johnston." Washington, DC MPD Police Memorial & Museum. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://www.dcpolicememorial.org/fallen-1943-johnston-c/ Harry S. Truman Earl McFarland White 25 July 19, 1946 Murder-RapeDorothy Berrum, 17, white William Copeland Black 38 December 20, 1946 MurderDora M. Johnson, 34, black (sister-in-law) Julius Fisher Black 32 MurderCatherine Cooper Reardon, 37, white Joseph Medley White 45 Murder-RobberyNancy Boyer, 50, white Alfred L. Hawkins Black 24 October 31, 1947 Murder-RobberyJohn Paul Knight, 34, white Jesse Patton Black 23 December 10, 1948 Murder-RobberyMaurice L. Bernstein, 52, white Reginald J. Wheeler Black 28 Shirley Harris Black 24 January 14, 1949 Murder-RobberyFrank C. Kelly, 56, white John H. Hall Black 35 February 25, 1949 RapeFemale, 8, black Theodore M. Holmes Black 20 March 15, 1949 RapeSally Hinton, 9, white George Garner Black 27 July 29, 1949 Murder-RobberyHoward Jones, 37, black Lawrence Garner Black 25 Frederick Pritchett White 40 February 15, 1952 MurderClyde L. King, 50, white William A. Tyler Jr. Black 20 July 26, 1952 Murder-RobberyOliver R. Hess and James C. Carpenter, 56 and 66, white Albert Allen Black 25 March 20, 1953 Murder-RobberyGeorge Schomber, 39, white Dwight D. Eisenhower Robert Eugene Carter Black 28 April 26, 1957 Murder-RobberyGeorge W. Cassels, 27, white (police officer)"Memorial to George W. Cassels." Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/memorial-george-w-cassels.

See also

Crime in Washington, D.C.

Notes

References