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List of people executed in the United States in 1944

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One hundred and twenty-two people, one hundred and nineteen male and three female, were executed in the United States in 1944, eighty-four by electrocution, twenty-four by gas chamber, thirteen by hanging, and one by firing squad.[1]

The U.S. territory of Hawaii would conduct its final execution this year before abolishing the death penalty in 1957; it was not a state until 1959.[2] Kansas carried out its first executions since 1870. The state had reinstated the death penalty in 1935 after initially abolishing it in 1907.

Finally, four notable executions were those of Emanuel Weiss, Louis Buchalter, and Louis Capone (no relation to Al Capone).[3] In addition, Fourteen-year-old George Stinney was controversially executed by South Carolina, becoming the youngest person with an exact birth date confirmed to be executed in the United States in the 20th century. Stinney's murder conviction was posthumously vacated in 2014, with Judge Carmen Mullen finding that he had not received a fair trial. Judge Mullen stated that while Stinney may have actually been guilty, his pre-trial confession was likely coerced, his civil rights had been violated, and his execution was thus illegal.[4]

List of people executed in the United States in 1944

[edit]
No. Date of execution Name Age of person Gender Ethnicity State Method Ref.
At execution At offense Age difference
1 January 5, 1944 Willie Hubbard 28 Unknown Unknown Male Black Georgia Electrocution [1]
2 January 6, 1944 Joseph Charles Mascari 32 31 1 White New York [5]
3 January 7, 1944 Isaac Irwin 31 29 2 Georgia [1]
4 Adriano Domingo 33 32 1 Asian Hawaii Territory Hanging [6]
5 January 8, 1944 Lionel James Allen 28 27 Black Louisiana Electrocution [7]
6 January 13, 1944 Herbert Lewis 35 Unknown Unknown New York [1]
7 January 14, 1944 Louis Vernon Hand 17 17 0 White Ohio [8]
8 January 21, 1944 Marcelino Bautista 31 31 Asian California Gas chamber [9]
9 Louis Valle 43 42 1 White New York Electrocution [10]
10 January 28, 1944 Farrington Graham Hill 31 30 California Gas chamber [11]
11 Alex Harris 48 47 North Carolina [12]
12 February 3, 1944 Willie Hicks 18 Unknown Unknown Black Georgia Electrocution [1]
13 February 4, 1944 Claude Newman 20 19 1 Mississippi [13]
14 February 9, 1944 Elijah Parker 23 21 2 [14]
15 February 10, 1944 John Regan 34 32 White New York [15]
16 February 15, 1944 Glenard Brown 19 18 1 California Gas chamber [16]
17 John Swan 26 24 2 Black New Jersey Electrocution [17]
18 February 18, 1944 Andrew Wilson Farrell 25 1 White North Carolina Gas chamber [18]
19 February 25, 1944 William Charles Holsey 33 32 Black Maryland Hanging [19]
20 Waymon Grainger 31 29 2 North Carolina Gas chamber [20]
21 February 29, 1944 Howard E. Jefferson 30 27 3 New Jersey Electrocution [1]
22 March 2, 1944 Joseph Palmer 28 26 2 White New York [21]
23 Vincent Sallami 26 24
24 March 3, 1944 James Raymond Woodall 36 36 0 Virginia [22]
25 March 4, 1944 Parker Lloyd Adams 27 Unknown Unknown Black Louisiana [1]
26 Louis Capone 47 40 7 White New York [23]
27 Emanuel Weiss 37 30
28 Louis Buchalter 47 39 8
29 March 6, 1944 Anthony Wilson 30 28 2 Black Louisiana [24]
30 Harvey Cunningham 39 37 Oregon Gas chamber [25]
31 March 7, 1944 Marvin Lewis Lee 22 Unknown Unknown Georgia Electrocution [1]
32 March 10, 1944 Ernest L. Hoefgen 32 31 1 White Kansas Hanging [26]
33 Willie Johnson 37 36 Black Ohio Electrocution [27]
34 March 15, 1944 Paul Leroy Williams 25 23 2 White Illinois [28]
35 March 17, 1944 Rock Hooten 24 Unknown Unknown Black Georgia [1]
36 March 20, 1944 Michael Musto 45 44 1 White Pennsylvania [29]
37 March 24, 1944 Lewis Mitchell 28 Unknown Unknown Black Alabama [30]
38 James Sidney Newsom Jr. 17 16 1 Mississippi [31]
39 March 31, 1944 Martin Smith 20 Unknown Unknown Maryland Hanging [1]
40 April 7, 1944 Herbert Rozier 72 71 1 Georgia Electrocution [32]
41 April 15, 1944 Fred L. Brady 47 46 White Kansas Hanging [33]
42 Clark B. Knox 26 25 Black
43 April 16, 1944 Bruce Elton Jordan 25 24 White Texas Electrocution [1]
44 April 28, 1944 Oscar Reed 26 25 Black Georgia
45 Robert Walker 23 3
46 James Crosby Unknown Unknown Unknown Mississippi
47 May 2, 1944 Juan Gutierrez 40 Unknown Unknown Hispanic Texas
48 May 3, 1944 Carlo James DeCaro Jr. 19 19 0 White Connecticut [34]
49 May 5, 1944 Lawrence Pascal Phillips Sr. 44 42 2 Mississippi [35]
50 May 12, 1944 Daniel Kolez 53 51 California Gas chamber [36]
51 Sammy Joe Timmons 20 Unknown Unknown Black South Carolina Electrocution [37]
52 May 19, 1944 James Samuel Hughes 44 43 1 White Mississippi [1]
53 Mildred Louise Johnson 23 22 Female Black [38]
54 May 25, 1944 Grady Ellison 36 34 2 Male Georgia [1]
55 John Ranford 41 40 1 New York [39]
56 May 26, 1944 Howard Robinson Walker 27 Unknown Unknown Virginia [40]
57 June 2, 1944 Seke Mack 40 Unknown Unknown Arkansas [1]
58 June 3, 1944 Louis Parisi 24 22 2 White New York
59 June 16, 1944 William Shaw 35 34 1 Black California Gas chamber [41]
60 John Hinton 25 25 0 Maryland Hanging [42]
61 Allen Lambus 72 71 1 Missouri Gas chamber [43]
62 George Junius Stinney Jr. 14 14 0 South Carolina Electrocution [44]
63 George Bruce Hamilton 20 20
64 Thomas William Clatterbuck 34 33 1 White Virginia [45]
65 June 19, 1944 Austin Cox Jr. 38 38 0 Utah Firing squad [46]
66 June 23, 1944 Gordon Cooke 20 18 2 Black New York Electrocution [47]
67 Winston A. Sealy 22 20
68 June 26, 1944 Edgar Flowers 21 19 Florida [1]
69 June 29, 1944 Alex Bellomo 25 23 White New York [48]
70 Peter DeLutro 23 21
71 Frank DiMaria
72 June 30, 1944 Raymond Plunkett 30 29 1 Nevada Gas chamber [49]
73 July 7, 1944 Walker Hudson 53 Unknown Unknown Black Arkansas Electrocution [1]
74 July 9, 1944 Bennie Johnson 41 40 1 Texas [50]
75 David Williams 19 17 2
76 July 14, 1944 James Tacker 61 Unknown Unknown White Arkansas [1]
77 July 28, 1944 William B. Stroup 39 38 1 Georgia [51]
78 July 30, 1944 Clay Whittle 37 36 Texas [52]
79 August 10, 1944 Eddie Dillon 35 34 Black Mississippi [1]
80 August 18, 1944 Florencio Alcalde 31 29 2 Hispanic California Gas chamber [53]
81 August 19, 1944 Edward Thompson 25 23 White Florida Electrocution [54]
82 Earl Thompson 33 31
83 August 27, 1944 George Johnson 30 Unknown Unknown Black Texas [1]
84 Willie Johnson 38 36 2
85 August 31, 1944 York Hing Lew 19 17 Asian New York [55]
86 Tieh Li Yun 24 23 1
87 September 8, 1944 Persia Williams 38 38 0 Black Washington Hanging [56]
88 September 15, 1944 Alvin Krause 29 28 1 White Illinois Electrocution [57]
89 September 25, 1944 George Nelson Gatling 37 37 0 Black Pennsylvania [1]
90 September 26, 1944 Harry Ralph Bever 28 26 2 White U.S. military Hanging [58]
91 September 29, 1944 Floyd Burton Loveless 17 15 White Nevada Gas chamber [59]
92 October 9, 1944 James Davis 16 16 0 Black Florida Electrocution [60]
93 Freddie Lee Lane 20 20
94 James C. Williams 26 26
95 October 19, 1944 James Thomas 20 18 2 Missouri Gas chamber [61]
96 November 3, 1944 Joe Vernon 38 31 7 Alabama Electrocution [1]
97 Charles Ivan Baa 22 20 2 California Gas chamber [62]
98 James Taylor 48 Unknown Unknown North Carolina [1]
99 Hurley Jones Unknown Unknown Unknown South Carolina Electrocution
100 November 16, 1944 Helen Fowler 37 36 1 Female New York [63]
101 George Franklin Knight 27 26 Male
102 November 17, 1944 Calvin William Watkins Jr. 24 24 0 Maryland Hanging [64]
103 Charles Alexander Unknown Unknown North Carolina Gas chamber [1]
104 Cleveland Brown Jr. 27 26 1 Wyoming [65]
105 November 24, 1944 George Walter Brooks 20 20 0 North Carolina [66]
106 James W. Buchanan 19 19 [67]
107 November 27, 1944 Thomas Hays Elliott 25 23 2 Pennsylvania Electrocution [68]
108 December 1, 1944 Levi Clingham 41 41 0 Arkansas [1]
109 John William Kehoe 50 46 4 White Mississippi [69]
110 December 8, 1944 Richard Harry Layton 36 35 1 Oregon Gas chamber [70]
111 Edward Heberling 32 32 0 Washington Hanging [71]
112 December 18, 1944 Charlie B. Williams 26 26 Black U.S. military [72]
113 December 19, 1944 Joe Basil Stephens 37 36 1 White Texas Electrocution [73]
114 December 22, 1944 Henry Lee Wiley 23 22 Black Mississippi [74]
115 December 28, 1944 Tom Mix 45 43 2 Florida [75]
116 December 29, 1944 Stanley Morris Kaster 36 35 1 White Iowa Hanging [76]
117 Joseph Marion Leemon 19 18 Mississippi Electrocution [77]
118 Maurice M. Shimniok
119 Bessie Mae Williams 20 19 0 Female Black North Carolina Gas chamber [78]
120 Ralph Thompson 18 18 Male
120 Melvin Wade 24 23 1
121 December 31, 1944 Allen Murray 32 30 2 Texas Electrocution [1]

Demographics

[edit]
Gender
Male 119 98%
Female 3 2%
Ethnicity
Black 70 57%
White 46 38%
Asian 4 3%
Hispanic 2 2%
State
New York 20 16%
Mississippi 12 10%
Georgia 10 8%
North Carolina 10 8%
Texas 9 7%
California 7 6%
Florida 7 6%
Arkansas 4 3%
Maryland 4 3%
South Carolina 4 3%
Kansas 3 2%
Louisiana 3 2%
Pennsylvania 3 2%
Virginia 3 2%
Alabama 2 2%
Illinois 2 2%
Missouri 2 2%
Nevada 2 2%
New Jersey 2 2%
Ohio 2 2%
Oregon 2 2%
U.S. military 2 2%
Washington 2 2%
Connecticut 1 1%
Hawaii Territory 1 1%
Iowa 1 1%
Utah 1 1%
Wyoming 1 1%
Method
Electrocution 84 69%
Gas chamber 24 20%
Hanging 13 11%
Firing squad 1 1%
Month
January 11 9%
February 10 8%
March 18 15%
April 7 6%
May 10 8%
June 16 13%
July 6 5%
August 8 7%
September 5 4%
October 4 3%
November 12 10%
December 15 12%
Age
Unknown 2 2%
10–19 14 11%
20–29 48 39%
30–39 37 30%
40–49 15 12%
50–59 3 2%
60–69 1 1%
70–79 2 2%
Total 122 100%

Executions in recent years

[edit]
Number of executions
1945 142
1944 122
1943 138
Total 402

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved September 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "Hawaii". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "DEAD MEN WALKING: MURDER INC. TRIO ELECTROCUTED AT SING SING PRISON EIGHTY YEARS AGO". The Mob Museum. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  4. ^ McVeigh, Karen (March 22, 2014). "George Stinney was executed at 14. Can his family now clear his name?". The Observer. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Murderer Executed". The Daily Times. January 7, 1944. p. 5.
  6. ^ "Domingo Will Hang Today". Honolulu Star-Advertiser via newspapers.com. January 7, 1944. p. 5.
  7. ^ "Sheriff Witness at Negro's Trial in Butler's Death". Weekly Town Talk via newspapers.com. February 6, 1943. p. 7.
  8. ^ "17-Year-Old Slayer Dies in Electric Chair". Youngstown Vindicator. January 15, 1944. p. 1.
  9. ^ "News Flashes". San Jose Evening News. January 21, 1944. p. 5.
  10. ^ "Nassau Slayer Goes to Chair". The New York Times. January 21, 1944.
  11. ^ "Duo Killer is Executed". San Jose Evening News. January 28, 1944. p. 17.
  12. ^ "Gas Chamber To Be Used for Execution". The Mount Airy News. January 28, 1944. p. 1.
  13. ^ "Claude Newman, MS, 1944 February 4". M. E. Grenander Special Collections and Archives.
  14. ^ "Mississippi Negro Dies for Murder". The Evening Independent. February 9, 1944. p. 9.
  15. ^ "Dies in Chair After 4 Reprieves". The New York Times. February 11, 1944.
  16. ^ "19-Year-Old is Executed". San Jose Evening News. February 15, 1944. p. 4.
  17. ^ "Negro Electrocuted For Girl's Murder". Gettysburg Times. February 16, 1944. p. 2.
  18. ^ "State v. Farrell". vLex.
  19. ^ "Meister Killer Is Hanged". The Evening Sun via newspapers.com. February 25, 1944. p. 32.
  20. ^ "Man in 1942 Slaying Executed in Raleigh". Baltimore Afro-American. March 4, 1944. p. 4.
  21. ^ "Die as Scheduled". The Telegraph-Herald. March 3, 1944. p. 1.
  22. ^ "Woodall Says He Remembers Nothing Of Slayings: State To Press For Prompt Trial". The Bee via newspapers.com. September 2, 1943. p. 1.
  23. ^ "'Murder, Inc.' Boss, Lepke, is Dead; Berlin Hit in All-American Raid". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 5, 1944. p. 1.
  24. ^ "Negro Electrocuted for Attack on White Woman". Sun Herald via newspapers.com. March 8, 1944. p. 4.
  25. ^ "Negro is Executed in Oregon Chamber". The Spokesman-Review. March 7, 1944. p. 1.
  26. ^ "Hoefgen is Hanged for Brutal Killing of Young Wichitan". The Wichita Eagle via newspapers.com. March 10, 1944. p. 14.
  27. ^ "Slayer Dies In Chair". Painesville Telegraph. March 11, 1944. p. 1.
  28. ^ "Slayer is Electrocuted". San Jose Evening News. March 15, 1944. p. 7.
  29. ^ "Altoona Man Dies For Killing Wife". The Pittsburgh Press. March 20, 1944. p. 19.
  30. ^ "Death Sentence Affirmed". Times Daily. January 20, 1944. p. 2.
  31. ^ "Alcorn Negro Dies In Electric Chair". Clarion-Ledger via newspapers.com. March 25, 1944. p. 8.
  32. ^ "Rozier v. State". vLex.
  33. ^ "To Gallows With Smile". St. Joseph News-Press. April 15, 1944. p. 6.
  34. ^ "Conn. Murderer Waits Electric Chair". The Telegraph. May 3, 1944. p. 6.
  35. ^ "Slayer of Recluse Is Put to Death". The Evening Independent. May 5, 1944. p. 16.
  36. ^ "Convicted Murderer Executed at Prison". Berkeley Daily Gazette. May 12, 1944. p. 4.
  37. ^ "Negro Executed at S. C. Prison". Herald-Journal. May 13, 1944. p. 2.
  38. ^ "Johnson v. State". vLex.
  39. ^ "SLAYER PUT TO DEATH; Manhasset Hold-Up Man Dies in Sing Sing -- Another Gets Stay". The New York Times. May 26, 1944.
  40. ^ "Howard Walker Dies in Chair". The Afro American. June 10, 1944. p. 6.
  41. ^ "People v. Shaw". Stanford Law School.
  42. ^ "N.C. Man Dies on Maryland Gallows". Baltimore Afro-American. June 17, 1944. p. 7.
  43. ^ "Allen Lambus Pays Penalty". The Southeast Missourian. June 16, 1944. p. 1.
  44. ^ "14 And 21-Year Negroes Executed". The Newberry Observer. June 16, 1944. p. 13.
  45. ^ "Clatterbuck Dies in Electric Chair". The Free-Lance Star. June 16, 1944. p. 2.
  46. ^ "Mass Killer Is Executed". The Windsor Daily Star. June 19, 1944. p. 10.
  47. ^ "2 YOUTHS GO TO CHAIR; Sealy and Cooke Die at Sing Sing as Two Others Get Stays". The New York Times. June 23, 1944.
  48. ^ "Gunmen Executed". The Leader-Post. June 30, 1944. p. 13.
  49. ^ "Slayer of Son Executed". The Spokesman-Review. July 1, 1944. p. 13.
  50. ^ "Double Execution of Texas Negroes". Spokane Daily Chronicle. July 10, 1944. p. 9.
  51. ^ "Double Execution of Texas Negroes". St. Petersburg Times. July 29, 1944. p. 2.
  52. ^ "Prison Slayer Is Refused Clemency". The Victoria Advocate. July 30, 1944. p. 5.
  53. ^ "Alcalde's 'Revelation' Is Doubted". San Jose Evening News. August 18, 1944. p. 31.
  54. ^ "Jax Brothers Die In Raiford's Chair". The Evening Independent. August 19, 1944. p. 1.
  55. ^ "TWO CHINESE DIE IN CHAIR; They Pay Penalty for Murder of Girl Here in 1943". The New York Times. September 1, 1944.
  56. ^ "Negro Executed At Walla Walla". Lewiston Morning Tribune. September 8, 1944. p. 4.
  57. ^ "Slayer Spurns Chance To Live, Dies In Chair". The Deseret News. September 15, 1944. p. 2.
  58. ^ "Article clipped from The Cincinnati Enquirer". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 27, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  59. ^ "Execute Loveless for 1942 Killing". Spokane Daily Chronicle. September 30, 1944. p. 11.
  60. ^ "Three Executed in Florida for Attack, Shooting". McComb Daily Journal via newspapers.com. October 11, 1944. p. 6.
  61. ^ "Negro Executed In Gas Chamber". The Windsor Daily Star. October 20, 1944. p. 7.
  62. ^ "Charles Baa Pays Supreme Penalty". Oxnard Press-Courier. November 3, 1944. p. 1.
  63. ^ "WOMAN GOES TO CHAIR; She is First of Sex in 8 Years to Pay Death Penalty at Sing Sing". The New York Times. November 17, 1944.
  64. ^ "Calvin Watkins Dies on Gallows". Baltimore Afro-American. November 18, 1944. p. 1.
  65. ^ "State v. Brown". vLex.
  66. ^ "State v. Brooks". CaseMine.
  67. ^ "State v. Buchanan". CaseMine.
  68. ^ "Slayer Executed". Greensburg Daily Tribune. November 27, 1944. p. 14.
  69. ^ "Farmer Dies in Electric Chair for Slaying Salesman". Sun Herald via newspapers.com. December 1, 1944. p. 8.
  70. ^ "Richard Layton Executed For Girl-Slaying". Eugene Register-Guard. December 8, 1944. p. 1.
  71. ^ "Slayer of Child Dies on Scaffold". St. Petersburg Times. December 9, 1944. p. 7.
  72. ^ Wilson, R. Michael (June 8, 2022). Legal Executions by the United States Military: A Complete Record, 1942-1961. McFarland. pp. 198–201. ISBN 978-1-4766-8882-4.
  73. ^ "Slayer of Deputy Dies In Chair". The Bonham Daily Favorite. December 20, 1944. p. 1.
  74. ^ "Wiley v. State". CaseMine.
  75. ^ "Florida News Briefs". St. Petersburg Times. December 29, 1944. p. 4.
  76. ^ "Draft Objector Is Hanged For Murder". San Jose News. December 29, 1944. p. 43.
  77. ^ "Two Sailors Executed For Slaying Ex-Sheriff". The Pittsburgh Press. December 29, 1944. p. 5.
  78. ^ "Three Negroes Die In State's Gas Chamber". The Herald-Sun via newspapers.com. December 30, 1944. p. 3.
Preceded by
1943 		   List of people executed   
   in the United States in   
1944 		Succeeded by
1945
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