John A. Bennett
John Arthur Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 10, 1935 Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | April 13, 1961 (aged 26) Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1953–1955 |
| Rank | Private (E-1) |
John Arthur Bennett (April 10, 1935 – April 13, 1961) was a United States Army soldier who was convicted and executed for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old Austrian girl.[1] As of 2016[update], he is the last person to have been executed by the U.S. military.[2]
Biography
Bennett was born in Virginia to a family of African-American sharecroppers. He was epileptic, but managed to enlist in the U.S. Army when he was 18.[1] Days before Christmas 1954,[2] a heavily intoxicated Bennett left his base to find a brothel, but chanced upon an 11-year-old Austrian girl.[1] He raped her in a meadow and tried to drown her.[3] He was soon arrested, tried and convicted by a court-martial of First Degree Child Rape and Attempted First Degree Murder one month later and sentenced to death four times.[1] President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Bennett's death warrant.[2] Days before Bennett's scheduled execution four years later, the victim and her parents wrote to President John F. Kennedy, asking that Bennett's life be spared. Kennedy took no action on the appeals, letting his predecessor's death warrant stand.[1] Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1961.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Serrano, Richard A. (July 12, 1994). "Last Soldier to Die at Leavenworth Hanged in an April Storm". Los Angeles Times. p. 14. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
- ^ a b c Reid, Tim (April 30, 2005). "Private was hanged in 1961 for raping girl". London: The Times. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
Days before Christmas 1954, and very drunk, Bennett crossed a field searching for a brothel outside his army base. Instead he came to a group of private homes before finding an 11-year-old local girl, who was returning home from Christmas shopping.
- ^ http://articles.latimes.com/2000/sep/10/magazine/tm-18406/2
External links
- List of U.S. Military Executions from the Death Penalty information Center
- John A. Bennett at Find a Grave
- 1935 births
- 1961 deaths
- 20th-century executions by the United States military
- 20th-century executions of American people by hanging
- African-American military personnel
- American people convicted of attempted murder
- American people convicted of rape
- American people convicted of child sexual abuse
- Criminals from Virginia
- Executed African-American people
- People executed by the United States military by hanging
- People executed for attempted murder
- People executed for rape
- Executed people from Virginia
- People with epilepsy
- United States Army soldiers