Fifty-six people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1960, forty by electrocution, fourteen by gas chamber, one by firing squad, and one by hanging. At least one notable execution was that of kidnapper Caryl Chessman. Connecticut, for its part, would carry out its second-to-last execution. (The last overall would be in 2005).
Robert Johnson became the last person in the United States to be executed for attempted rape. Robert Harmon became the last person in the United States to be executed for an assault in which the victim did not die. He was executed for stabbing a fellow inmate while serving a life sentence for robbery. Harmon wrote to Governor Pat Brown and warned that he would continue to assault or kill fellow inmates unless he was executed. Rejecting an appeal for clemency from the American Civil Liberties Union, Governor Brown noted that Harmon had given a similar warning prior to the stabbing and concluded that he was too dangerous to be kept alive.
List of people executed in the United States in 1960 Date of execution Name Age of person Gender Ethnicity State Method At execution At offense Age difference 1January 8, 1960 23 21 2MaleBlack CaliforniaGas chamber 2 20 18 3 39 35 4 White New Mexico 4 January 14, 1960 40 5Black New YorkElectrocution 5 January 15, 1960 26 25 1 Georgia 6 January 22, 1960 36 30 6 White Colorado Gas chamber 7 February 1, 1960 26 242Black FloridaElectrocution 8 February 19, 1960 29 26 3 Ohio 9 February 24, 1960 41 39 2White Nevada Gas chamber 10 March 4, 1960 34 33 1 GeorgiaElectrocution 11 March 5, 1960 30 26 4 Black Texas 12 March 11, 1960 25 23 2White Arizona Gas chamber 13 March 30, 1960 49 46 3 Utah Firing squad 14 April 22, 1960 32 30 2 Black California Gas chamber 15 April 28, 1960 19 18 1 White TexasElectrocution 16 April 29, 1960 27 24 3 Black Alabama 17 May 2, 1960 38 26 12 White California Gas chamber 18 May 12, 1960 35 33 2 Hispanic New YorkElectrocution 19May 13, 1960 28 24 4BlackArkansas 20 22 18 21 27 26 1White California Gas chamber 22 May 17, 1960 36 32 4 ConnecticutElectrocution 23May 19, 1960 33 31 2BlackNew York 24 25May 20, 1960 22 184Arkansas 26 23 19 27 May 26, 1960 28 26 2 Texas 28 May 31, 1960 29 28 1 South Carolina 29 June 10, 1960 53 52 Georgia 30 June 20, 1960 29 27 2 Florida 31 June 23, 1960 44 42 New York 32 June 24, 1960 40 39 1 Georgia 33 June 25, 1960 34 33 White Washington Hanging 34 June 30, 1960 31 29 2Black VirginiaElectrocution 35 July 1, 1960 25 23 Georgia 36July 8, 1960 37 35 California Gas chamber 37 30 29 1TexasElectrocution 38 July 15, 1960 29 27 2 39 July 28, 1960 30 26 4White Oklahoma 40 August 9, 1960 27 1 California Gas chamber 41 August 12, 1960 30 29 BlackTexasElectrocution 42 August 27, 1960 27 24 3 Hispanic 43 August 31, 1960 32 30 2White Oklahoma 44 September 7, 1960 36 34 California Gas chamber 45September 16, 1960 23 19 4ArkansasElectrocution 46 28 26 2 47 October 1, 1960 24 22 Black Ohio 48October 28, 1960 27 26 1Arkansas 49 21 19 2 50 November 7, 1960 37 34 3 Tennessee 51 November 10, 1960 42 41 1 Mississippi Gas chamber 52 November 21, 1960 44 43 GeorgiaElectrocution 53 November 30, 1960 22 20 2 Texas 54 December 1, 1960 20 19 1 New York 55 December 15, 1960 34 32 2White Oklahoma 56 December 28, 1960 32 29 3 California Gas chamber
Demographics Gender Male 56 Female 0 Ethnicity Black 35 White 19 Hispanic 2 State California 9 Arkansas 8 Texas 8 Georgia 6 New York 6 Oklahoma 3 Florida 2 Ohio 2 Alabama 1 Arizona 1 Colorado 1 Connecticut 1 Mississippi 1 Nevada 1 New Mexico 1 South Carolina 1 Tennessee 1 Utah 1 Virginia 1 Washington 1 Method Electrocution 40 Gas chamber 14 Firing squad 1 Hanging 1 Month January 6 February 3 March 4 April 3 May 12 June 6 July 5 August 4 September 3 October 3 November 4 December 3 Age 10–19 1 20–29 26 30–39 21 40–49 7 50–59 1 Total 56 100%
Executions in recent years Number of executions 1961 43 1960 56 1959 50 Total 149
References