Sixty-five people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1956, forty-six by electrocution, sixteen by gas chamber, two by firing squad, and one by hanging.
In 2026, the Dallas County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to symbolically exonerate Tommy Lee Walker.
List of people executed in the United States in 1956 Date of execution Name Age of person Gender Ethnicity State Method At execution At offense Age difference 1January 3, 1956 35 34 1MaleBlack Mississippi Gas chamber 2 20 19 South CarolinaElectrocution 3 January 4, 1956 36 34 2White Texas 4 January 12, 1956 19 17 New York 5 January 18, 1956 22 20 Oklahoma 6 January 19, 1956 20 18 Black New York 7 January 20, 1956 33 32 1 South Carolina 8 January 24, 1956 25 23 2 Texas 9 January 26, 1956 28 26 White New York 10January 27, 1956 39 381Black Georgia 11 38 37 MississippiGas chamber 12 February 17, 1956 24 22 2 13February 20, 1956 30 27 3FloridaElectrocution 14 29 26 15 28 2 16February 24, 1956 30 29 1White Federal government Gas chamber 17 22 20 2 New Mexico Electrocution 18March 6, 1956 27 24 3BlackCaliforniaGas chamber 19 20 March 15, 1956 19 17 2 White OhioElectrocution 21 March 30, 1956 29 25 4Black Georgia 22 April 5, 1956 32 Unknown Unknown Mississippi Gas chamber 23 April 6, 1956 30 28 2 Louisiana Electrocution 24April 13, 1956 32 29 3White California Gas chamber 25 37 36 1 GeorgiaElectrocution 26 April 28, 1956 24 21 3 Black Florida 27May 11, 1956 27 6WhiteUtahFiring squad 28 25 19 29 May 12, 1956 21 18 3Black TexasElectrocution 30 May 14, 1956 30 28 2Pennsylvania 31 June 4, 1956 41 39 White 32June 8, 1956 27 26 1Black Georgia 33 29 28 Texas 34 June 15, 1956 25 24 Native American CaliforniaGas chamber 35 June 22, 1956 26 25 Black Mississippi 36 June 28, 1956 22 20 2 White New YorkElectrocution 37 June 29, 1956 25 23 Black Georgia 38July 13, 1956 32 26 6 CaliforniaGas chamber 39 31 30 1 Mississippi 40 30 28 2 North Carolina 41 OhioElectrocution 42 July 27, 1956 31 27 4 South Carolina 43 August 20, 1956 56 54 2 White Florida 44 August 21, 1956 26 22 4 Black New Jersey 45August 23, 1956 51 49 2 White New York 46 27 26 1 Black Texas 47August 30, 1956 White New York 48 23 22 Black Texas 49 August 31, 1956 24 23 South Carolina 50September 7, 1956 46 44 2 Hispanic Colorado Gas chamber 51 28 28 0 White West VirginiaElectrocution 52 September 20, 1956 59 54 5Black Ohio 53September 21, 1956 60 59 1 Arkansas 54 48 47 Georgia 55 September 28, 1956 20 17 3 Alabama 56October 1, 1956 25 24 1Florida 57 21 20 58 October 30, 1956 26 23 3 White Texas 59 November 7, 1956 35 34 1BlackMississippiGas chamber 60 November 8, 1956 21 Unknown Unknown 61 November 26, 1956 27 26 1 White OhioElectrocution 62November 30, 1956 47 45 2BlackKentucky 63 21 19 64 22 20 65 December 15, 1956 27 25 White Washington Hanging
Demographics Gender Male 65 Female 0 Ethnicity Black 43 White 20 Hispanic 1 Native American 1 State Mississippi 8 Florida 7 Texas 7 Georgia 6 New York 6 California 5 Ohio 4 South Carolina 4 Kentucky 3 Pennsylvania 2 Utah 2 Alabama 1 Arkansas 1 Colorado 1 Federal government 1 Louisiana 1 New Jersey 1 New Mexico 1 North Carolina 1 Oklahoma 1 Washington 1 West Virginia 1 Method Electrocution 46 Gas chamber 16 Firing squad 2 Hanging 1 Month January 11 February 6 March 4 April 5 May 4 June 7 July 5 August 7 September 6 October 3 November 6 December 1 Age 10–19 2 20–29 37 30–39 18 40–49 4 50–59 3 60–69 1 Total 65 100%
Executions in recent years Number of executions 1957 69 1956 65 1955 79 Total 213
References