The ESPY List: US Executions 1608-2002 - Death Penalty

M. Watt Espy, Jr. and John Ortiz Smykla gathered data from state Department of Corrections records, newspapers, county histories, proceedings of state and local courts, holdings of historical societies, museums, and other listings of executions to compile a 32-year study of 15,269 executions performed from 1608-2002 under legal civil authority in the US, or within territories which later became part of the US is the source material for this resource.

The data was then broken down by 21 different variables such as race, age, jurisdiction, type of violation, crime committed, method of execution, day, month, and year of execution, order of execution, state where execution took place, year of statehood, gender, and occupation of the person executed.

The data begins with the first official American execution in 1608 when Captain George Kendall of the Jamestown colony was executed by firing squad for the crime of mutiny. The data ends in 2002 when the study was considered complete.

The ESPY list is considered the most comprehensive one of its kind, yet it is still incomplete because some executions were not recorded at all, and some records may have been lost or destroyed over time.

I.	Total Number of US Executions, 1608-2002
II.	Top 20 Occupations of the Executed, 1608-2002
III.	Executions by Race, 1608-2002
IV.	Executions by Crime, 1608-2002
V.	Executions by Method, 1608-2002

VI.	Executions by Method, 1900-1999
VII.	Executions by Age, 1608-2002
VIII.	Executions by Gender, 1608-2002
IX.	Executions by State & Year, 1608-2002
X.	Executions by State & Race, 1608-2002

I. Total Number of US Executions, 1608-2002

15,269 total US executions shown mostly in 25-year increments.


1608-1624	1625-1649	1650-1674	1675-1699	1700-1724	1725-1749	1750-1774	1775-1799
3	26	49	84	156	226	391	618
1800-1824	1825-1849	1850-1874	1875-1899	1900-1924	1925-1949	1950-1974	1975-2002
602	894	1,364	2,521	2,995	3,644	916	780

II. Top 20 Occupations of the Executed, 1608-2002
The occupation of the executed individual was recorded in 7,555 (49.5%) of the 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002. All terminology used for occupations came directly from the original study, “Executions in the United States, 1608-2002: The ESPY File.”
1. Slave – 1,748 (11.5%)	11. Criminal – 75
2. Laborer – 585 (3.8%)	12. Pirate – 68
3. Farmhand – 369 (2.4%)	13. Tenant Farmer – 67
4. Farmer – 347 (2.2%)	14. Carpenter – 54
5. Farm Laborer – 168 (1.1%)	15. Housewife – 50
6. Miner – 130	16. Truck Driver – 49
7. Soldier – 118	17. Cook – 47
8. Gangster – 110	18. Railroad Worker – 43
9. Seaman – 92	19. Freedman – 42
10. Tenant Farmer – 77	20. Ranch Hand – 39
Other Interesting Occupations of People Executed (in alphabetical order): Attorney (12), Baseball Player (5), Bootlegger (35), Boxer (3), Clergy (16), Clown (1), Guerilla (4), Jockey (6), Physician (19), Playboy (2), Policeman (11), Preacher (15), Teamster (6), Voodoo Doctor (2)

III. Executions by Race, 1608-2002

The race of the executed individual was recorded in 14,555 (95.3%) of the 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002.

Total Number of US Executions by Race from 1608-2002

Pie Chart of Executions by Race 1608-2002

	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native American	White
1608-1699	0	18	0	21	100
1700-1799	0	621	2	36	567
1800-1899	36	2,592	116	253	2,052
1900-2002	111	4,122	231	52	3,625
Totals:	147	7,353	349	362	6,344
Totals:	(1.0%)	(50.5%)	(2.5%)	(2.5%)	(43.5%)

IV. Executions by Crime, 1608-2002
The crime committed by the executed individual was recorded in 14,810 (97.0%) of the 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002. All terminology used for type of crime committed came directly from the original study, “Executions in the United States, 1608-2002: The ESPY File.”
1. Murder1 – 12,111 (81.8%)	16. Witchcraft – 35
2. Rape2 – 988 (6.7%)	17. Counterfeiting – 31
3. Slave Revolt – 277 (1.9%)	18. Spying/Espionage – 27
4. House Break-in Burglary – 251 (1.7%)	19. Theft/Stealing – 23
5. Robbery – 158 (1.1%)	20. Forgery – 21
6. Attempted Murder – 144	21. Aiding a Runaway Slave – 20
7. Piracy – 130	22. Burglary/Attempted Rape – 16
8. Unspecified Felony – 107	23. Sodomy/Buggery/Bestiality – 15
9. Conspiracy to Murder – 99	24. Kidnapping – 11
10. Arson – 97	25. Guerilla Activity – 7
11. Poisoning – 59	26. Concealing Birth – 4
12. Horse Stealing – 51	27. Rioting – 4
13. Treason – 43	28. Adultery – 2
14. Desertion – 40	29. Prison Break/Kidnap – 2
15. Accessory to Murder – 36	30. Criminal Assault – 1
1. Murder: This category includes murder, arson/murder, kidnap/murder, murder/burglary, murder/rape/robbery, rape/murder, and robbery/murder. 2. Rape: This category includes rape and rape/robbery.

V. Executions by Method, 1608-2002

The method of execution was recorded in 15,202 (99.6%) of the 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002.

	Asphyxiation (Gas)	Bludgeoned/ Broke on Wheel	Burned	Electrocuted	Gibbeted/ Hanged in Chains	Hanged	Injection	Pressing	Shot
1608-1649	0	0	0	0	0	27	0	0	2
1650-1699	0	0	1	0	0	114	0	1	12
1700-1749	0	10	35	0	12	317	0	0	0
1750-1799	0	3	22	0	2	929	0	0	19
1800-1849	0	1	8	0	0	1,435	1	0	33
1850-1899	0	0	0	58	0	3,781	0	0	44
1900-1949	372	0	0	3,564	0	2,677	0	0	25
1950-2002	221	0	0	803	1	44	620	0	8
Totals:	593	14	66	4,425	15	9,324	621	1	143
Totals:	(4.0%)	(0.1%)	(0.4%)	(29.0%)	(0.1%)	(61.3%)	(4.1%)	(0.0%)	(1.0%)
Asphyxiation (Gas): Placed into an air tight chamber and made to breath poisionous gas until death occurs. Bludgeoned / Broke on Wheel: Beaten by a short, heavy club, usually made of wood and/or tied down to a wooden wheel or cross and, through beating or other force, having ones body parts broken through the gaps until death occurs. Burned: Burned to death. Electrocuted: Strapped to a chair and have electricity pulsed into the body until death occurs. Gibbeted / Hanged in Chains: Executed and hanged in public with the body left to hang on a post (known as a gibbet) in public view. Sometimes the body was placed inside a metal cage or chains, and left hanging in public for an extended period of time as it decomposed. Hanged: Tie a rope around the neck of an individual and hang them from an object until death occurs. Injection: Strapped down to a table or chair and have a lethal substance injected into the veins. Pressing: Pressed between two heavy objects until death occurs. Shot: Executed by gunfire.

VI. Executions by Method, 1900-1999

The method of execution was recorded in 8,141 (100%) of US executions between 1900 and 1999.

The below chart contains the categories of “hanged in chains” and “shot,” which were not included on the line graph above because those numbers were too small to be visible.
	Asphyxiation (Gas)	Electrocution	Hanging	Hanged in Chains	Injection	Shot
1900-1909	0	132	1,146	0	0	2
1910-1919	0	484	601	1	0	9
1920-1929	2	823	456	0	0	8
1930-1939	114	1,206	357	0	0	2
1940-1949	256	919	117	0	0	4
1950-1959	149	540	30	0	0	5
1960-1969	61	119	11	0	0	1
1970-1979	1	1	0	0	0	1
1980-1989	4	71	0	0	42	0
1990-1999	6	66	3	0	390	1
Totals:	593	4,361	2,721	1	432	33
Totals:	(7.3%)	(53.6%)	(33.4%)	(0.0%)	(5.3%)	(0.4%)

VII. Executions by Age, 1608-2002

The age of the executed individual was recorded in 7,311 (47.9%) of the 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002.

10 to 19 *	20 to 29	30 to 39	40 to 49	50 to 59	60 to 69	70 to 79	80 to 89
578	3,218	2,011	984	381	112	25	2
(8.0%)	(44%)	(27.5%)	(13.5%)	(5.2%)	(1.5%)	(0.3%)	(0.0%)

* Of the 578 people aged 10-19 who were executed the breakdown is as follows: age 10 (0), age 11 (0), age 12 (3), age 13 (3), age 14 (9), age 15 (6), age 16 (38), age 17 (100), age 18 (175), age 19 (244).

VIII. Executions by Gender, 1608-2002
The gender of the executed individual was recorded in 15,118 (99.0%) of the 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002.

	1608-1649	1650-1699	1700-1749	1750-1799	1800-1849	1850-1899	1900-1949	1950-2002	Totals
Female	9	33	32	68	92	83	30	18	365	(2.4%)
Male	20	100	338	911	1,346	3,750	6,609	1,679	14,753	(97.6%)

IX. Executions by State & Year, 1608-2002
The state in which the individual was executed was recorded in all 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002. States are listed in order of the most executions down to the lowest number of executions. The time periods in this table are broken down as follows: 17th century (1608-1699); 18th century (1700-1799); early 19th century to the end of the Civil War (1800-1865); 19th century after Civil War (1866-1899); early 20th century ending in 1935, the year the largest number of US executions occurred (1900-1935); mid-20th century to 1972, the year the Furman vs. Georgia decision placed a moratorium on the death penalty (1935-1972); post-1972, in 1976 the US Supreme Court re-affirmed the constitutionality of the death penalty (1973-1991); and late 20th century to 2002, in 1993 the US Supreme Court ruled in Herrera v. Collins that a death-row inmate is not ordinarily entitled to relief where a claim of innonence is based on newly discovered evidence, unless the claim also includes an independent constitutional violation (1992-2002)
	1608-1699	1700-1799	1800-1865	1866-1899	1900-1935	1936-1972	1973-1991	1992-2002	Total
1. Virginia	10	386	481	96	223	81	11	73	1,361
2. New York	8	167	156	155	408	236	0	0	1,130
3. Pennsylvania	1	202	108	185	443	101	0	3	1,043
4. Texas	0	0	41	221	258	235	38	238	1,031
5. Georgia	0	18	84	223	343	282	14	12	976
6. North Carolina	0	131	133	112	207	201	3	16	803
7. Alabama	0	0	262	133	197	116	8	17	733
8. California	0	5	111	127	239	227	0	10	719
9. South Carolina	0	93	127	143	165	113	3	24	668
10. Louisiana	0	61	142	135	204	90	19	7	658
11. Arkansas	0	0	29	202	158	89	2	22	502
12. Ohio	0	1	44	85	188	120	0	5	443
13. Kentucky	0	8	122	92	123	79	0	2	426
14. Florida	0	0	16	30	118	150	26	27	367
15. New Jersey	8	76	35	55	143	44	0	0	361
16. Illinois	0	1	50	93	157	47	1	11	360
17. Mississippi	0	0	26	81	128	116	4	2	357
18. Massachusetts	99	102	55	24	49	16	0	0	345
19. Missouri	0	0	49	126	66	44	5	50	340
20. Tennessee	0	4	69	83	101	78	0	0	335
21. Maryland	15	43	65	74	55	57	0	3	312
22. Oklahoma	0	0	3	36	62	31	1	50	183
23. West Virginia	0	6	37	21	63	28	0	0	155
24. Indiana	0	0	33	26	41	31	2	7	140
25. Arizona	0	0	1	25	46	32	0	22	126
26. Connecticut	12	16	17	16	46	19	0	0	126
27. Oregon	0	0	21	33	50	18	0	2	124
28. DC	0	0	12	28	47	31	0	0	118
29. Washington	0	0	3	20	46	36	0	4	109
30. Colorado	0	0	6	30	37	28	0	1	102
31. Deleware	2	8	7	20	18	7	0	13	75
32. Montana	0	0	1	31	36	3	0	2	73
33. Nevada	0	0	3	17	18	23	5	7	73
34. New Mexico	0	0	9	30	28	6	0	0	73
35. Minnesota	0	0	42	17	7	0	0	0	66
36. Kansas	0	0	7	9	1	40	0	0	57
37. Rhode Island	4	44	4	0	0	0	0	0	52
38. Hawaii	0	0	1	6	37	5	0	0	49
39. Utah	0	0	5	7	18	13	3	3	49
40. Iowa	0	0	9	4	17	15	0	0	45
41. Nebraska	0	0	0	14	16	4	0	0	34
42. Idaho	0	0	3	14	6	3	0	1	27
43. Vermont	0	1	6	11	5	3	0	0	26
44. New Hampshire	0	6	5	10	2	1	0	0	24
45. Wyoming	0	0	0	6	11	5	0	1	23
46. Maine	1	7	7	6	0	0	0	0	21
47. South Dakota	0	0	0	9	5	1	0	0	15
48. Michigan	2	5	5	0	0	1	0	0	13
49. Alaska	0	0	0	4	5	3	0	0	12
50. North Dakota	0	0	0	3	5	0	0	0	8
51. Wisconsin	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Totals:	162	1,391	2,453	2,928	4,646	2,909	145	635	15,269
Totals:	1608-1699	1700-1799	1800-1865	1866-1899	1900-1935	1936-1972	1973-1991	1992-2002	15,269

X. Executions by State & Race, 1608-2002
The state in which the individual was executed in was recorded in all 15,269 US executions between 1608 and 2002. States are listed in order of the most executions down to the lowest number of executions.
	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native American	White	Other/ Unknown	Total
1. Virginia	0	1,118 (82.2%)	7 (0.5%)	3 (0.2%)	218 (16.0%)	15 (1.1%)	1,361
2. New York	10 (0.9%)	227 (20.1%)	20 (1.8%)	8 (0.7%)	774 (68.5%)	91 (8.0%)	1,130
3. Pennsylvania	3 (0.3%)	221 (21.2%)	2 (0.2%)	3 (0.3%)	686 (65.8%)	128 (12.2%)	1,043
4. Texas	2 (0.2%)	546 (52.9%)	112 (10.9%)	5 (0.5%)	349 (33.9%)	17 (1.6%)	1,031
5. Georgia	0	734 (75.2%)	0	6 (0.6%)	223 (22.8%)	13 (1.4%)	976
6. North Carolina	0	574 (71.5%)	0	9 (1.1%)	200 (24.9%)	20 (2.5%)	803
7. Alabama	0	623 (85.0%)	0	11 (1.5%)	94 (12.8%)	5 (0.7%)	733
8. California	54 (7.5%)	74 (10.3%)	82 (11.4%)	47 (6.5%)	432 (60.1%)	30 (4.2%)	719
9. South Carolina	0	475 (71.1%)	0	0	183 (27.4%)	10 (1.5%)	668
10. Louisiana	1 (0.2%)	457 (69.4%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	147 (22.3%)	47 (7.1%)	658
11. Arkansas	0	277 (55.2%)	1 (0.2%)	54 (10.8%)	152 (30.2%)	18 (3.6%)	502
12. Ohio	1 (0.2%)	132 (29.8%)	0	6 (1.4%)	300 (67.7%)	4 (0.9%)	443
13. Kentucky	0	232 (54.5%)	0	1 (0.2%)	177 (41.5%)	16 (3.8%)	426
14. Florida	0	230 (62.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	129 (35.1%)	4 (1.1%)	367
15. New Jersey	3 (0.8%)	116 (32.1%)	0	2 (0.6%)	209 (57.9%)	31 (8.6%)	361
16. Illinois	0	81 (22.5%)	6 (1.7%)	4 (1.1%)	224 (62.2%)	45 (12.5%)	360
17. Mississippi	0	274 (76.8%)	0	1 (0.3%)	73 (20.4%)	9 (2.5%)	357
18. Massachusetts	3 (0.9%)	32 (9.3%)	6 (1.7%)	27 (7.8%)	210 (60.9%)	67 (19.4%)	345
19. Missouri	0	128 (37.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	187 (55%)	22 (6.5%)	340
20. Tennessee	0	215 (64.2%)	0	2 (0.6%)	100 (29.8%)	18 (5.4%)	335
21. Maryland	0	208 (66.7%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	89 (28.5%)	13 (4.2%)	312
22. Oklahoma	1 (0.5%)	54 (29.5%)	2 (1.1%)	37 (20.2%)	86 (47%)	3 (1.7%)	183
23. West Virginia	0	77 (49.7%)	0	0	70 (45.2%)	8 (5.2%)	155
24. Indiana	0	31 (22.1%)	0	0	106 (75.7%)	3 (2.1%)	140
25. Arizona	4 (3.2%)	13 (10.3%)	33 (26.2%)	10 (7.9%)	63 (50%)	3 (2.4%)	126
26. Connecticut	2 (1.6%)	7 (5.6%)	0	10 (7.9%)	103 (81.7%)	4 (3.2%)	126
27. Oregon	3 (2.4%)	5 (4.0%)	2 (1.6%)	17 (13.7%)	97 (78.2%)	0	124
28. DC	0	80 (67.7%)	0	0	36 (30.6%)	2 (1.7%)	118
29. Washington	7 (6.4%)	8 (7.3%)	1 (0.9%)	9 (8.3%)	84 (77.1%)	0	109
30. Colorado	0	7 (6.9%)	14 (13.7%)	0	63 (61.8%)	18 (17.6%)	102
31. Deleware	0	40 (53.3%)	0	1 (1.3%)	26 (34.7%)	8 (10.7%)	75
32. Montana	2 (2.7%)	9 (12.3%)	1 (1.4%)	5 (6.9%)	56 (76.7%)	0	73
33. Nevada	3 (4.1%)	4 (5.5%)	4 (5.5%)	6 (8.2%)	45 (61.6%)	11 (15.1%)	73
34. New Mexico	0	5 (6.8%)	42 (57.5%)	0	18 (24.7%)	8 (11.0%)	73
35. Minnesota	0	1 (1.5%)	0	40 (60.6%)	25 (37.9%)	0	66
36. Kansas	0	6 (10.5%)	0	3 (5.3%)	39 (68.4%)	9 (15.8%)	57
37. Rhode Island	0	3 (5.8%)	0	3 (5.8%)	42 (80.7%)	4 (7.7%)	52
38. Hawaii	45 (91.8%)	0	3 (6.1%)	0	1 (2.1%)	0	49
39. Utah	0	3 (6.1%)	2 (4.1%)	2 (4.1%)	42 (85.7%)	0	49
40. Iowa	0	7 (15.6%)	0	0	38 (84.4%)	0	45
41. Nebraska	0	4 (11.8%)	0	1 (2.9%)	25 (73.5%)	4 (11.8%)	34
42. Idaho	1 (3.7%)	2 (7.4%)	0	1 (3.7%)	23 (85.2%)	0	27
43. Vermont	0	1 (3.8%)	0	0	24 (92.4%)	1 (3.8%)	26
44. New Hampshire	0	1 (4.2%)	0	0	22 (91.6%)	1 (4.2%)	24
45. Wyoming	2 (8.7%)	2 (8.7%)	1 (4.3%)	1 (4.3%)	15 (65.3%)	2 (8.7%)	23
46. Maine	0	3 (14.3%)	0	2 (9.5%)	16 (76.2%)	0	21
47. South Dakota	0	2 (13.3%)	0	5 (33.3%)	7 (46.7%)	1 (6.7%)	15
48. Michigan	0	1 (7.7%)	0	7 (53.9%)	5 (38.4%)	0	13
49. Alaska	0	2 (16.7%)	0	6 (50.0%)	4 (33.3%)	0	12
50. North Dakota	0	1 (12.5%)	0	0	6 (75%)	1 (12.5%)	8
51. Wisconsin	0	0	0	0	1 (100%)	0	1
Totals:	147	7,353	349	362	6,344	714	15,269

People who view this page may also like: