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List of people executed in the United States in 1961

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Forty-three people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1961, twenty-four by electrocution, eighteen by gas chamber, and one by hanging.[1]

The United States military would conduct its most recent execution this year.

List of people executed in the United States in 1961

[edit]
No. Date of execution Name Age of person Gender Ethnicity State Method Ref.
At execution At offense Age difference
1 January 5, 1961 Ralph Downs 28 26 2 Male Black New York Electrocution [1]
2 January 20, 1961 Roy Lee Mullins 24 23 1 White Georgia [2]
3 February 17, 1961 Linwood Burch 23 Unknown Unknown Black Virginia [1]
4 March 10, 1961 Grover Earl Lucas 51 48 3 White [3]
5 March 17, 1961 H.B. Penelton 30 28 2 Black Ohio [1]
6 March 24, 1961 Thurmond Johnson 26 Unknown Unknown Georgia [1]
7 April 13, 1961 John Arthur Bennett 25 18 7 U.S. military Hanging [4]
8 April 21, 1961 William Stokes 27 26 1 Mississippi Gas chamber [5]
9 April 26, 1961 Alexander P. Robillard XIV 20 19 White California [6]
10 April 28, 1961 Quincy Bullock 48 45 3 Black South Carolina Electrocution [7]
11 May 26, 1961 Charlie Robinson 28 26 2 [8]
12 May 31, 1961 Robert Lee Goldsby 35 28 7 Mississippi Gas chamber [9]
13 June 3, 1961 Charles Elbert Williams 20 19 1 Texas Electrocution [10]
14 June 8, 1961 Woodrow Miller 33 29 4 New York [1]
15 June 9, 1961 Jessie James Ferguson 39 37 2 Louisiana [11]
16 Nathaniel Lipscomb 32 29 3 Maryland Gas chamber [12]
17 June 15, 1961 Richard Edward Kiefer 40 35 5 White Indiana Electrocution [13]
18 June 19, 1961 William Otis Britt 27 24 3 South Carolina [14]
19 Douglas Westbury 31 28 [14]
20 June 23, 1961 James Edwards 30 28 2 Black Texas [15]
21 June 29, 1961 Ronald Rittger 25 23 White California Gas chamber [16]
22 July 12, 1961 Marion James Linden 47 43 4 [17]
23 July 14, 1961 J.W. Simmons 27 26 1 Black Mississippi [18]
24 Walter James Outen 31 29 2 South Carolina Electrocution [19]
25 August 7, 1961 Norman J. Mackiewicz 35 32 3 White Florida [20]
26 Robert Wesley Davis 28 26 2 [20]
27 August 11, 1961 David Francis Early 32 29 3 Colorado Gas chamber [1]
28 George Watt 21 Unknown Unknown Black Georgia Electrocution [1]
29 August 23, 1961 Thayne H. Archibald 22 20 2 White Nevada Gas chamber [21]
30 October 18, 1961 David Allan Combes 32 31 1 California [22]
31 October 23, 1961 Arthur Grover Schuck 45 41 4 Pennsylvania Electrocution [23]
32 October 27, 1961 Theodore Harson Boykin 32 31 1 Black North Carolina Gas chamber [24]
33 October 31, 1961 Honor Robinson 44 42 2 Arizona [25]
34 November 3, 1961 James Kendrick 31 29 White California [26]
35 November 9, 1961 Fred Thomas Leath 40 38 Texas Electrocution [27]
36 November 17, 1961 Claude Leon Hart Jr. 31 31 0 Virginia [1]
37 November 21, 1961 Richard Arlen Lindsey 30 1 California Gas chamber [28]
38 Billy Wesley Monk 26 24 2 [29]
39 November 24, 1961 Joe Henry Johnson 19 17 Black Alabama Electrocution [30]
40 November 29, 1961 Jose Angel Gonzalez 27 26 1 Hispanic California Gas chamber [31]
41 December 8, 1961 Jim Cobbs 46 Unknown Unknown Black Virginia Electrocution [1]
42 December 19, 1961 Howard Cook 33 32 1 Mississippi Gas chamber [32]
43 December 20, 1961 Ellic Lee 31 30 [32]

Demographics

[edit]
Gender
Male 43 100%
Female 0 0%
Ethnicity
Black 23 53%
White 19 44%
Hispanic 1 2%
State
California 8 19%
Mississippi 5 12%
South Carolina 5 12%
Virginia 4 9%
Georgia 3 7%
Texas 3 7%
Florida 2 5%
New York 2 5%
Alabama 1 2%
Arizona 1 2%
Colorado 1 2%
Indiana 1 2%
Louisiana 1 2%
Maryland 1 2%
Nevada 1 2%
North Carolina 1 2%
Ohio 1 2%
Pennsylvania 1 2%
U.S. military 1 2%
Method
Electrocution 24 56%
Gas chamber 18 42%
Hanging 1 2%
Month
January 2 5%
February 1 2%
March 3 7%
April 4 9%
May 2 5%
June 9 21%
July 3 7%
August 5 12%
September 0 0%
October 4 9%
November 7 16%
December 3 7%
Age
10–19 1 2%
20–29 17 40%
30–39 17 40%
40–49 7 16%
50–59 1 2%
Total 43 100%

Executions in recent years

[edit]
Number of executions
1962 47
1961 43
1960 56
Total 146

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Executions in the U.S. 1608–2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "Convicted Killer Roy Lee Mullins To Get Sanity Test". The Macon News via newspapers.com. November 4, 1960. p. 18.
  3. ^ "Lucas v. Commonwealth". Justia Law.
  4. ^ "A look at the last U.S. soldier executed by the military". CNN. July 28, 2013.
  5. ^ "Stokes v. State". Justia Law.
  6. ^ "People v. Robillard". vLex.
  7. ^ "There's no dignity in electric chair". The Herald via newspapers.com. April 29, 1961. p. 3.
  8. ^ "State v. Robinson". Justia Law.
  9. ^ "Goldsby v. State". Justia Law.
  10. ^ "Williams v. State". Justia Law.
  11. ^ "State v. Ferguson". Justia Law.
  12. ^ "1961: puff of smoke and a killer died". The Baltimore Sun. September 28, 1993.
  13. ^ "Kiefer v. State". vLex.
  14. ^ a b "Stays of Execution Denied Otis Britt, Douglas Westbury". The State via newspapers.com. June 17, 1961. p. 13.
  15. ^ "Convicted Rapist Dies In Chair". The Daily News-Texan via newspapers.com. June 23, 1961. p. 3.
  16. ^ "People v. Rittger". Justia Law.
  17. ^ "Marion James Linden, Appellant, v. Fred R. Dickson, Warden, California State Prison, San Quentin, Appellee, 287 F.2d 55 (9th Cir. 1961)". Justia Law.
  18. ^ "Simmons v. State". Justia Law.
  19. ^ "State v. Outen". Justia Law.
  20. ^ a b "A Double Death At Dawn". Tampa Bay Times via newspapers.com. August 8, 1961. p. 1.
  21. ^ "Archibald v. State". Justia Law.
  22. ^ "People v. Combes". Stanford Law School.
  23. ^ "Arthur Schuck Electrocuted For 1958 Ambush Murder". The Evening Sun via newspapers.com. October 24, 1961. p. 9.
  24. ^ "State v. Boykin". Justia Law.
  25. ^ "State v. Robinson". Justia Law.
  26. ^ "People v. Kendrick". Stanford Law School.
  27. ^ "Leath v. State". Justia Law.
  28. ^ "People v. Lindsey". Stanford Law School.
  29. ^ "People v. Monk". Stanford Law School.
  30. ^ "Johnson v. State". Justia Law.
  31. ^ "People v. Gonzalez". Justia Law.
  32. ^ a b "Lee v. State". CaseMine.
Preceded by
1960 		   List of people executed   
   in the United States in   
1961 		Succeeded by
1962
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