Executions of white defendants for killing black victims are rare.[1] Since the reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States in 1976, only 21 white people have been executed solely for killing a black person (less than 1.36% of all executions), whereas 299 black people have been executed solely for killing a white person (nearly 19.4% of all executions).[2][3] Of the 21 white people executed for killing a black victim, seven were put to death for racially motivated murders. In addition, 13 white people have been executed for murders involving a black victim and one or more victims of another race; four of these cases were racially motivated.[2][3][4]
Prior to the 1976 reinstatement of capital punishment in the United States, the last confirmed execution of a white person for the killing of a black person was on April 15, 1944, when Fred L. Brady was executed for the robbery and murder of Joe Williams in Kansas.[1]
List of white defendants executed for killing black victims in the United States since 1976
| No. | Date of execution | Executed person | Age | State | Method | Victim(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6, 1991 | Donald Henry Gaskins | 58 | South Carolina | Electrocution | Rudolph Tyner[a] | [4][1] |
| 2 | January 24, 1995 | Kermit Smith Jr. | 37 | North Carolina | Lethal injection | Whelette Collins | [4][5] |
| 3 | March 20, 1995 | Thomas Joseph Grasso | 32 | Oklahoma | Hilda Johnson[b] | [4][6] | |
| 4 | July 1, 1995 | Roger Dale Stafford | 43 | Oklahoma | Lethal injection | 9 people (1 black, 1 hispanic, and 5 white males, 2 white females)[c] | [4][7][8] |
| 5 | December 6, 1995 | Robert Earl O'Neal Jr. | 34 | Missouri | Lethal injection | Arthur Dade[d] | [4][9] |
| 6 | June 6, 1997 | Henry Francis Hays | 42 | Alabama | Electrocution | Michael Donald[e] | [4][10] |
| 7 | December 11, 1997 | Thomas Howard Beavers Jr. | 26 | Virginia | Lethal injection | Marguerite Lowery | [4][11][12] |
| 8 | March 6, 1998 | John David Arnold Jr. | 43 | South Carolina | Betty Gardner[f] | [4][13] | |
| 9 | July 10, 1998 | John Herman Plath | [4][14] | ||||
| 10 | September 25, 1998 | Sammy Roberts | 40 | South Carolina | Lethal injection | 3 people (1 black and 2 white males)[g] | [4][15][16] |
| 11 | April 28, 1999 | Eric Christopher Payne | 26 | Virginia | Ruth Parham and Sally Fazio (1 black and 1 white female)[h] | [4][11] | |
| 12 | July 6, 1999 | Gary Michael Heidnik | 55 | Pennsylvania | Lethal injection | Deborah Dudley and Sandra Lindsay | [4][17] |
| 13 | July 8, 1999 | Norman Lee Newsted | 45 | Oklahoma | Larry Donnell Buckley[i] | [4][18] | |
| 14 | July 21, 1999 | Tommy David Strickler | 33 | Virginia | Leann Whitlock[j] | [4][11][12] | |
| 15 | May 3, 2002 | Richard Charles Johnson | 39 | South Carolina | Bruce Kenneth Smalls[k] | [4][19] | |
| 16 | September 10, 2003 | Larry Allen Hayes | 54 | Texas | Lethal injection | Rosalyn Ann Robinson and Mary Evelyn Hayes (1 black and 1 white female)[l] | [4][20][21][22] |
| 17 | July 14, 2006 | William Ernest Downs Jr. | 39 | South Carolina | Lethal injection | Keenan O'Mailia[m] | [4][23] |
| 18 | July 20, 2006 | Brandon Wayne Hedrick | 27 | Virginia | Electrocution | Lisa Yvonne Crider[n] | [4][11][24] |
| 19 | November 9, 2006 | John Yancey Schmitt | 33 | Lethal injection | Earl Shelton Dunning | [4][11][25] | |
| 20 | September 12, 2007 | Daryl Keith Holton | 45 | Tennessee | Electrocution | 4 people (1 black female, 3 white males)[o] | [4][26] |
| 21 | June 6, 2008 | David Mark Hill | 48 | South Carolina | Lethal injection | 3 people (1 black female, 2 white males)[p] | [4][27][28] |
| 22 | February 17, 2011 | Frank G. Spisak Jr. | 59 | Ohio | 3 people (2 black and 1 white males)[q] | [4][29] | |
| 23 | June 16, 2011 | Lee Andrew Taylor | 32 | Texas | Lethal injection | Donta Green[r] | [4][30][31][22] |
| 24 | September 21, 2011 | Lawrence Russell Brewer | 44 | James Byrd Jr.[s] | [4][32][33] | ||
| 25 | February 8, 2012 | Edwin Hart Turner | 38 | Mississippi | Eddie Brooks and Everett Curry[t] | [4][34] | |
| 26 | September 25, 2012 | Cleve Foster | 48 | Texas | Nyanuer Gatluak "Mary" Pal[u] | [4][35] | |
| 27 | January 16, 2013 | Robert Charles Gleason Jr. | 42 | Virginia | Electrocution | Aaron Alexander Cooper and Harvey Gray Watson Jr. (1 black and 1 white male)[v] | [4][11][36] |
| 28 | March 6, 2013 | Frederick Treesh | 48 | Ohio | Lethal injection | Henry Dupree[w] | [4][37] |
| 29 | September 25, 2013 | Harry Mitts Jr. | 61 | Ohio | Lethal injection | John A. Bryant and Dennis Glivar (1 black and 1 white male)[x] | [4][38] |
| 30 | January 11, 2017 | Christopher Chubasco Wilkins | 48 | Texas | Willie Ladell Freeman and Mike Silva (1 black and 1 hispanic male) | [4][39] | |
| 31 | July 6, 2017 | William Charles Morva | 35 | Virginia | Derrick McFarland and Eric Sutphin (1 black and 1 white male)[y] | [4][11] | |
| 32 | August 24, 2017 | Mark James Asay | 53 | Florida | Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell (1 black and 1 mixed-race male)[z] | [4][40] | |
| 33 | April 24, 2019 | John William King | 44 | Texas | Lethal injection | James Byrd Jr.[aa] | [4][41] |
| 34 | October 14, 2025 | Samuel Lee Smithers | 72 | Florida | Lethal injection | Denise Roach and Cristy Cowan (1 black and 1 white female) | [4][42] |
Demographics
| Sex | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 34 | 100% |
| Female | 0 | 0% |
| Date of execution | ||
| 1976–1979 | 0 | 0% |
| 1980–1989 | 0 | 0% |
| 1990–1999 | 14 | 42% |
| 2000–2009 | 7 | 21% |
| 2010–2019 | 12 | 35% |
| 2020–2029 | 1 | 3% |
| Age | ||
| 20–29 | 3 | 9% |
| 30–39 | 10 | 29% |
| 40–49 | 14 | 41% |
| 50–59 | 5 | 15% |
| 60–69 | 1 | 3% |
| 70–79 | 1 | 3% |
| State | ||
| South Carolina | 7 | 21% |
| Virginia | 7 | 21% |
| Texas | 6 | 18% |
| Ohio | 3 | 9% |
| Oklahoma | 3 | 9% |
| Florida | 2 | 6% |
| Alabama | 1 | 3% |
| Mississippi | 1 | 3% |
| Missouri | 1 | 3% |
| North Carolina | 1 | 3% |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 3% |
| Tennessee | 1 | 3% |
| Method | ||
| Lethal injection | 29 | 85% |
| Electrocution | 5 | 15% |
| Total | 34 | 100% |
List of white defendants executed for crimes against black victims in the United States (pre-1972)
At least 55 white people were executed in the US for crimes against black people before 1972. Of those, 52 were executed for murder, one was executed for attempted murder, one was executed for kidnapping, and one was executed for "engaging in the slave trade" under the Piracy Law of 1820. Twenty white people were executed for crimes against slaves, 18 for murder, one for attempted murder, and one for slave trading.
| No. | Date of death | Inmate | Age | Sex | Method | State | Crime | Victim(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 23, 1739 | John Cobidge | Unknown | Male | Hanging | Virginia | Murder | Unknown female[ab] | [43] |
| 2 | Charles Quin | Unknown male[ac] | [44] | ||||||
| 3 | David White | ||||||||
| 4 | May 13, 1747 | Thomas Lamb | Maryland | Nacy (male)[ad] | [45] | ||||
| 5 | July 1752 | Pierre Antoine Dochenet | 24 | Louisiana | Attempted murder | Unknown (2 black females)[ae] | [46] | ||
| 6 | October 12, 1770 | John Jones | Unknown | Maryland | Murder, slave stealing[af] | Jem and Sarah (black male and female)[ag] | [45] | ||
| 7 | May 12, 1775 | William Pitman | Unknown[ah] | Virginia | Murder | Unknown male[ai] | [47] | ||
| 8 | January 31, 1789 | Matthew Farley Jr. | 42 | Unknown male[aj] | [48] | ||||
| 9 | November 25, 1803 | Gabriel Reed | Unknown | James Butts[ak] | [49] | ||||
| 10 | 1806 | Micajah Johnson | Unknown | North Carolina | Kidnapping[al] | Unknown male[am] | [50] | ||
| 11 | November 10, 1820 | Mason Scott | 19 | Murder | Caleb[an] | [51] | |||
| 12 | July 27, 1821 | Isaac Jones | Unknown | Mississippi | Unknown male[ao] | [52] | |||
| 13 | April 25, 1822 | Samuel Green | 26 | Massachusetts | Billy Williams[ap] | ||||
| 14 | October 1, 1823 | Jeff King | Unknown | Kentucky | Unknown male[aq] | [53] | |||
| 15 | May 28, 1829 | George Chapman | New York | Daniel Wright | [54] | ||||
| 16 | July 2, 1836 | John Hallock | Nell (female) | [55] | |||||
| 17 | May 15, 1840 | John Hoover | 58 | North Carolina | Mira (female)[ar] | [56] | |||
| 18 | September 19, 1851 | Aaron Stookey | 42 | New York | Zeddy Moore | [57] | |||
| 19 | July 2, 1852 | Jean Adam | Unknown | Louisiana | Murder, burglary | Mary[as] | [58] | ||
| 20 | Anthony Delisle | ||||||||
| 21 | January 14, 1853 | L. A. J. Stubbs | South Carolina | Murder | Unknown male[at] | [59] | |||
| 22 | March 3, 1854 | William Blackledge | Joe (male)[au] | [60] | |||||
| 23 | Thomas Motley | ||||||||
| 24 | June 2, 1854 | James Wilson | Texas | Bill (male)[av] | [61] | ||||
| 25 | June 8, 1860 | Benjamin F. Norman | Kentucky | George Johnson[aw] | [62][63] | ||||
| 26 | February 21, 1862 | Nathaniel Gordon | 36 | Federal government | Piracy[ax] | Unknown (at least 29 black people)[ay] | [64] | ||
| 27 | January 23, 1863 | Frederick Letz | 20 | Military | Murder | Tom[az] | [65] | ||
| 28 | October 26, 1866 | David Howell | Unknown | Georgia | Henry Gamble | [66] | |||
| 29 | November 18, 1870 | Ezekiel McAbee | 21 | South Carolina | Simon Latham | [67][68] | |||
| 30 | October 27, 1871 | William B. Parker | 51 | North Carolina | Thomas Price | [69] | |||
| 31 | August 7, 1872 | Eli Chavis | 27 | South Carolina | Adam Jackson | [70] | |||
| 32 | January 16, 1874 | Joseph Baker | 35 | North Carolina | Newton Wilfong[ba] | [71] | |||
| 33 | June 19, 1876 | William Foster | 26 | Missouri | Unknown male | [72] | |||
| 34 | December 7, 1877 | Harvey Thorpe | 22 | New York | Howard[bb] | [73] | |||
| 35 | March 15, 1878 | Augustus J. Johnson | 24 | Georgia | Daniel Alford[bc] | [74] | |||
| 36 | May 14, 1880 | Thomas White | 28 | South Carolina | Pete Hawkins | [75] | |||
| 37 | December 17, 1880 | Daniel Keith | 42 | North Carolina | Murder, rape | Alice Ellis[bd] | [76] | ||
| 38 | February 25, 1881 | John Von der Heide | 24 | Kentucky | Murder | Rebecca Johnson[be] | [77] | ||
| 39 | June 19, 1885 | William Morrow | 34 | Tennessee | Dick Overton[bf] | [78][79] | |||
| 40 | March 19, 1890 | Mel J. Cheatham | 40 | Mississippi | Jim Tilghman | [80] | |||
| 41 | July 10, 1896 | America "Mary" Snodgrass | 18[81][bg] | Female | Virginia | Unknown[bh] | [82][83] | ||
| 42 | January 23, 1899 | George W. Hite | 65 | Male | William Bowers[bi] | [84] | |||
| 43 | June 21, 1910 | Antonio Fornaro | 31 | Electrocution | New York | Agnes Johnson | [85] | ||
| 44 | November 27, 1911 | James W. Gatlin[bj] | 26 | Hanging | Georgia | Murder, robbery, burglary | Mary Randolph and Mary Randolph Jr. (black females)[bk] | [86] | |
| 45 | July 26, 1912 | John Bailey | 22 | Tennessee | Murder, robbery | 3 people (2 black males and 1 black female)[bl] | [87] | ||
| 46 | George Shelton | 19 | |||||||
| 47 | March 21, 1913 | Arthur Jones | 28 | Alabama | John Holland[bm] | [88][89] | |||
| 48 | William Watson | ||||||||
| 49 | December 7, 1923 | John Karayians | 34 | Electrocution | Ohio | Murder | David Gamble[bn] | [90] | |
| 50 | March 20, 1936 | Erleon Whitehead | 35 | Kentucky | Murder, robbery, burglary | John Allen | [91] | ||
| 51 | February 18, 1938 | Milford Exum | 40 | Gas chamber | North Carolina | James Williams[bo] | [92][93] | ||
| 52 | April 25, 1938 | Edward Rose | 22 | Electrocution | Pennsylvania | Murder, rape, robbery | Floyd Tranon[bp] | [94][95] | |
| 53 | Theodore Duminiak | 20 | |||||||
| 54 | John Oreszak | ||||||||
| 55 | April 15, 1944 | Fred L. Brady | 46 | Hanging | Kansas | Murder, robbery | Joe Williams | [96] |
Demographics (pre-1972)
| Sex | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 54 | 98% |
| Female | 1 | 2% |
| Date of execution | ||
| 1700–1750 | 4 | 7% |
| 1750–1800 | 4 | 5% |
| 1800–1850 | 9 | 15% |
| 1850–1900 | 25 | 45% |
| 1900–1950 | 13 | 24% |
| 1950–1972 | 0 | 0% |
| Age | ||
| Unknown | 21 | 36% |
| 10–19 | 3 | 5% |
| 20–29 | 16 | 29% |
| 30–39 | 7 | 13% |
| 40–49 | 4 | 7% |
| 50–59 | 2 | 4% |
| 60–69 | 1 | 2% |
| State | ||
| Virginia | 8 | 13% |
| North Carolina | 7 | 11% |
| South Carolina | 6 | 11% |
| New York | 5 | 9% |
| Kentucky | 4 | 7% |
| Georgia | 3 | 5% |
| Louisiana | 3 | 5% |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 5% |
| Tennessee | 3 | 5% |
| Alabama | 2 | 4% |
| Maryland | 2 | 4% |
| Mississippi | 2 | 4% |
| Federal government | 1 | 2% |
| Kansas | 1 | 2% |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 2% |
| Missouri | 1 | 2% |
| Ohio | 1 | 2% |
| Texas | 1 | 2% |
| US military | 1 | 2% |
| Method | ||
| Hanging | 48 | 84% |
| Electrocution | 6 | 11% |
| Gas chamber | 1 | 2% |
| Total | 55 | 100% |
See also
Notes
- ↑ The murder occurred in prison and the victim was a death row inmate. The defendant was a serial killer already serving multiple life sentences for the murders of nine other victims. Codefendant Tony Cimo, a white male, was allowed to plead guilty to lesser charges and served two years and nine months of an 8-year sentence. The deal was offered since Cimo had no criminal history and the victim was on death row for murdering Cimo's parents.
- ↑ The defendant requested a death sentence and waived his appeals. He was also convicted of the murder of a white male in New York.
- ↑ The victims were: Isaac Freeman, Louis Zacarias, Terri Horst, Linda Lorenz, David Lindsey, Melvin Lorenz, Richard Lorenz, David Salsman, and Anthony Tew. Codefendant Verna Stafford, a white female, received a life sentence.
- ↑ The murder occurred in prison and was racially motivated. The defendant was already serving a life sentence for the murder of a white male and was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. Codefendants Lloyd Schlup and Rodnie Stewart, both of whom were fellow Aryan Brotherhood members, were also convicted in the murder. Stewart was sentenced to life in prison and Schlup was sentenced to death. Schlup, whose guilt was questioned, won an appeal and received a life sentence after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
- ↑ The murder was racially motivated. The defendant was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The jury voted in favor of life imprisonment, but the judge overruled the verdict and sentenced the defendant to death. Codefendant James Knowles, a 17-year-old white male, received a life sentence after pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against the defendant. He was paroled in 2006.
- ↑ The murder was racially motivated.
- ↑ The victims were Louis Cakley, Kenneth Krause, and Bill Spain. Codefendant Henry Copeland, a white male, was also sentenced to death, but died on death row in 1986.
- ↑ The defendant waived his appeals.
- ↑ The defendant was also convicted of the murders of three white victims in Utah which was a key reason for his death sentence.
- ↑ Codefendant Ronald Henderson, a white male, received a life sentence.
- ↑ The victim was a police officer. The defendant was also convicted of the murder of a white male and sentenced to life.
- ↑ The defendant waived his appeals.
- ↑ The victim was a minor. The defendant requested a death sentence and waived his appeals. He was also convicted of the murder of a white victim (another minor) in Georgia.
- ↑ Codefendant Trevor Jones, a white male, received a life sentence.
- ↑ The victims were Kayla Holton, Brent Holton, Eric Holton, and Stephen Holton. The defendant waived his appeals.
- ↑ The victims were: Josie Curry, Michael Gregory, and James Riddle. Racial animus was a factor in the murder of the black victim.
- ↑ The victims were: Reverend Horace T. Rickerson, Brian Warford, and Timothy Sheehan. The defendant was a member of the American Nazi Party and the murders were racially motivated.
- ↑ The murder occurred in prison and was racially motivated. The defendant was already serving a life sentence for his role in the murder of a white male and was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. Codefendant Daniel Richbourg, a white male, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 48 years in prison.
- ↑ The murder was racially motivated. The defendant was a Neo-Nazi and the leader of a white supremacist prison gang. Codefendant John King, also a Neo-Nazi and a member of a white supremacist prison gang, was sentenced to death and executed as well. A third defendant, Shawn Berry, whose motive is disputed, received a life sentence after the prosecution conceded that he was not a white supremacist.
- ↑ Codefendant Paul Stewart, a 17-year-old White male, received a life sentence. Stewart was paroled in 2019 since he was a juvenile at the time of the murders.
- ↑ The defendant was also linked to the murder of a White female. Codefendant Sheldon Ward, a White male, was also sentenced to death, but died on death row in 2010.
- ↑ Both murders occurred in prison. The defendant, who was already serving a life sentence for the murder of a White male, asked for a death sentence, threatened to kill again unless he was executed, and waived his appeals.
- ↑ The defendant was linked to the murder of an Asian male. At his trial, prosecutors presented a videotape in which he admitted to several other murders, including the lynching of a black man.
- ↑ The murder of the Black victim was racially motivated. The White victim was a police officer.
- ↑ The White victim was a police officer, and the Black victim was a hospital security guard.
- ↑ The murders were racially motivated. The Mixed-race victim was White and Hispanic. During the defendant's trial, the court believed this victim was also Black.
- ↑ The murder was racially motivated. The defendant was a Neo-Nazi and a member of a white supremacist prison gang. Codefendant Lawrence Brewer, also a Neo-Nazi and a member of a white supremacist prison gang, was sentenced to death and executed as well. A third defendant, Shawn Berry, whose motive is disputed, received a life sentence after the prosecution conceded that he was not a white supremacist.
- ↑ The victim was a slave. The defendant was an indentured servant.
- ↑ The victim was a slave. One of the defendants was an overseer.
- ↑ The victim was a slave.
- ↑ The victims were slaves.
- ↑ Sentenced to death for stealing and murdering the victims, but technically only received a death warrant for slave stealing since the evidence for the latter charge was stronger.
- ↑ The victims were slaves. Jem was a 6-month-old boy.
- ↑ Said to be in his 40s or 50s.
- ↑ The victim was a minor and a slave owned by the defendant. Black people were not allowed to serve as witnesses against white people at the time, but the defendant was convicted after his son and daughter testified against him at his trial.
- ↑ The victim was a slave owned by the defendant. Codefendant Thomas Farley was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but reprieved.
- ↑ The victim was a slave.
- ↑ The defendant kidnapped a free black boy in North Carolina and sold him into slavery in Virginia.
- ↑ The victim was a minor.
- ↑ The victim was a slave.
- ↑ The victim was a slave.
- ↑ The murder occurred in prison. The defendant was a serial killer who was implicated in numerous other murders and killed the victim in retaliation for him reporting his escape plot.
- ↑ The victim was a runaway slave who accompanied the defendant after being promised freedom. The defendant later decided to sell the slave, then murdered him after the slave threatened to reveal that he was stolen.
- ↑ The victim was a slave owned by the defendant.
- ↑ The victim was a minor and a slave.
- ↑ The victim was a slave owned by the defendant.
- ↑ The victim was a runaway slave, but was not owned by either of the defendants. Motley was a slave owner and Blackledge was an overseer who had been implicated in the murders of other runaway slaves.
- ↑ The victim was a slave. The defendant had been in a dispute with the victim's owner, whom he had threatened to kill on several occasions. When the defendant arrived at the owner's farm to carry out his threat, the owner was not present. As a result, the defendant instead murdered the victim, who was described as the owner's favorite slave.
- ↑ Codefendants Stephen Durrall and John Baggett, both white males, were also charged with murder. Durrall was also convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but it is unclear whether he was executed. Baggett jumped bail after his trial ended with a hung jury.
- ↑ The defendant was a slave trader who was convicted of engaging in the slave trade, which was deemed an act of piracy and thus a capital offense under the Piracy Law of 1820.
- ↑ The defendant transported 897 black victims, of whom at least 29 died. 563 of the victims being transported were minors. The defendant was also linked to at least two other slave voyages and is suspected of a third, in which hundreds of other black victims are believed to have died. Codefendants William Warren, David Hall, Thomas Nelson, Samuel Sleeper, Thomas Savage, and John McCafferty, all white males, were convicted of or pleaded guilty to lesser charges under the Slave Trade Act of 1800. Warren was sentenced to eight months in prison, Hall to nine months in prison, and the others each to 3.5 months in prison.
- ↑ The murder was racially motivated.
- ↑ The defendant was a Confederate veteran.
- ↑ The murder occurred in prison.
- ↑ The murder was racially motivated. The defendant confessed to four murders on the gallows and is suspected of additional murders.
- ↑ The victim was a minor, aged 9.
- ↑ The victim was a minor, aged 13.
- ↑ The defendant was already serving a life sentence for the murder of another black male at the time of his conviction. Both murders may have been racially motivated, as the defendant accused both of them of trying to rape his daughter, but there is no evidence for these allegations. The defendant also implicated his father, who was never prosecuted, in the murder.
- ↑ Misreported as 28.
- ↑ The victim was the defendant's six-month-old biracial child, whom she burned alive. Also the last woman to be executed for the infanticide of her own child in the United States.
- ↑ The defendant was a Confederate veteran and had previously served a prison term for malicious shooting.
- ↑ Also known as A. J. O'Berry.
- ↑ Racial animus was a factor in the murders. One of the victims was a minor, aged 13.
- ↑ The victims were: Ben Pettigrew, Fred Pettigrew, and Pearl Pettigrew. The murders were racially motivated. Fred and Pearl were minors (aged 13 and 12). Bailey, Shelton, and two codefendants, also white males, were caught at the scene and chased by a posse, but only Bailey and Shelton were captured. In his final confession before his execution, Bailey named Lige Scott and Grover Hardcastle as the two killers who escaped and said Scott was the ringleader. Scott was arrested and charged as an accessory to murder, but the charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence. Hardcastle was never apprehended.
- ↑ Codefendant Walter Jones, a white male, was sentenced to life in prison, and codefendant John Watson, also a white male, was granted immunity in exchange for turning state's evidence. Walter Jones was later executed after being convicted of the murder of a white male. All four defendants were members of a gang that had been implicated in at least 55 murders. Arthur Jones confessed to his participation in three murders.
- ↑ The defendant also critically wounded a white police officer by shooting him in his spinal column and later tried to murder a fellow inmate for testifying against him as the jury deliberated on his fate.
- ↑ Codefendant Earl Sasser, a white male, was also sentenced to death. However, his conviction was set aside in an agreement with the judge and the prosecution. Sasser then pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder and was resentenced to life in prison. He was paroled in 1949.
- ↑ The three defendants also gang raped the victim's girlfriend and were part of a seven-member gang that had committed a violent crime spree involving multiple rapes and robberies. Codefendant Leon Butler, a black male, was acquitted of murder in the same case. The other four members of the gang, all of whom were white males, received prison terms since they were only implicated in rape and robbery, neither of which were capital crimes in Pennsylvania.
References
- 1 2 3 Margolick, David (September 7, 1991). "Rarity for U.S. Executions: White Dies for Killing Black". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 Deborah Fins. "Death Row U.S.A. Winter 2022" (PDF). NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- 1 2 "Executions by Race and Race of Victim". Death Penalty Information Center. Archived from the original on June 7, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 "Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ Waggoner, Martha (January 25, 1995). "Smith's Execution Only Second Time White Man Executed For Murdering Black Man". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Executed Killer's Wife Will Face Murder Charges". Associated Press. May 23, 1995. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ↑ "It's Time To Serve Justice". The Oklahoman. June 29, 1995. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Stafford v. State". Justia. June 20, 1983. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ↑ Schafer, Ed (December 6, 1995). "White Supremacist Executed in Missouri for Killing Black Inmate". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ↑ Smith, Gita M. "Alabama case shows how father's sins were visited on son: Whites execution for killing black didn't end inherited racism". Atlanta Journal-Constitution (newspaper). p. 4A. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Virginia's Execution History". Virginians For Alternatives To The Death Penalty. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- 1 2 Armstrong, Ken (June 12, 1992). "Jury: 20-Year-Old Should Die For Murder". The Daily Press Inc. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Convicted killer executed by lethal injection". The Herald. March 7, 1998. p. 8. Retrieved May 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Curtis, Kim (July 11, 1998). "Plath executed for killing". The Sun News. p. 24. Retrieved May 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Reinitz, Jeff (September 21, 1998). "Victims' family won't watch murderer die". The Item. pp. 1, 9. Retrieved May 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Man executed for role in robbery, fatal shooting". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 26, 1998. p. 4. Retrieved May 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Jackson, Peter (July 8, 1999). "Heidnik execution offers no relief for victims' kin". The Morning Call. p. 12. Retrieved May 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Hoberock, Barbara (June 22, 1999). "Eyewitness to an execution". Tulsa World. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Richard Charles Johnson #773". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Larry Allen Hayes #874". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ Graczyk, Michael (September 13, 2003). "Hayes first white executed in Texas for killing a black". Plainview Daily Herald. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- 1 2 Dow, David R. (July 8, 2011). "Death Penalty, Still Racist and Arbitrary". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "William E. Downs Jr. #1032". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Brandon Hedrick #1035". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ "John Yancey Schmitt #1056". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Daryl Keith Holton #1097". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ "David Mark Hill #1104". Clark County Prosecutor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ↑ "Justices uphold death sentence for killing social workers". AccessWDUN. September 13, 2004. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
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- ↑ McCullough, Jolie (January 11, 2017). "Texas executes first person of the year". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ↑ Pantazi, Andrew (August 24, 2017). "In a first, Florida executes a white defendant for killing a black victim". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
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{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Index Card Summary of Execution(s), Undated". archives.albany.edu. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
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