List of people executed in the United States in 1960
Fifty-six people, all male, were executed in the United States in 1960, forty by electrocution, fourteen by gas chamber, one by firing squad, and one by hanging.[1]
List of people executed in the United States in 1960
| No. | Date of execution | Name | Age of person | Gender | Ethnicity | State | Method | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At execution | At offense | Age difference | ||||||||
| 1 | January 8, 1960 | Phillip Henry Hamilton | 23 | 21 | 2 | Male | Black | California | Gas chamber | [2] | 
| 2 | Jimmie Lee Jones | 20 | 18 | |||||||
| 3 | David Cooper Nelson | 39 | 35 | 4 | White | New Mexico | [3] | |||
| 4 | January 14, 1960 | Ivory Mason | 40 | 5 | Black | New York | Electrocution | [1] | ||
| 5 | January 15, 1960 | Homer Bunckley | 26 | 25 | 1 | Georgia | [4] | |||
| 6 | January 22, 1960 | Leroy Adolph Leick | 36 | 30 | 6 | White | Colorado | Gas chamber | [5] | |
| 7 | February 1, 1960 | Ralph Williams | 21 | 18 | 3 | Black | Florida | Electrocution | [6] | |
| 8 | February 19, 1960 | Robert Lee Lyons | 29 | 26 | Ohio | [1] | ||||
| 9 | February 24, 1960 | Earl Lewis Steward | 41 | 39 | 2 | White | Nevada | Gas chamber | [7] | |
| 10 | March 4, 1960 | Ernest Albert | 34 | 33 | 1 | Georgia | Electrocution | [8] | ||
| 11 | March 5, 1960 | Junior Lee Williams | 30 | 26 | 4 | Black | Texas | [9] | ||
| 12 | March 11, 1960 | Robert Dwight Fenton | 25 | 23 | 2 | White | Arizona | Gas chamber | [1] | |
| 13 | March 30, 1960 | James Woode Rodgers | 49 | 46 | 3 | Utah | Firing squad | [10] | ||
| 14 | April 22, 1960 | Lawrence Leroy Wade | 32 | 30 | 2 | Black | California | Gas chamber | [11] | |
| 15 | April 28, 1960 | Nearvel Moon | 19 | 18 | 1 | White | Texas | Electrocution | [12] | |
| 16 | April 29, 1960 | Columbus Boggs | 27 | 24 | 3 | Black | Alabama | [13] | ||
| 17 | May 2, 1960 | Caryl Whittier Chessman | 38 | 26 | 12 | White | California | Gas chamber | [14] | |
| 18 | May 12, 1960 | Pablo Vargas | 35 | 33 | 2 | Hispanic | New York | Electrocution | [15] | |
| 19 | May 13, 1960 | Rogers Boone | 28 | 24 | 4 | Black | Arkansas | [16] | ||
| 20 | James Matthew Moore | 22 | 18 | |||||||
| 21 | James Eugene Hooton | 27 | 26 | 1 | White | California | Gas chamber | [17] | ||
| 22 | May 17, 1960 | Joseph Louis Taborsky | 36 | 32 | 4 | Connecticut | Electrocution | [18] | ||
| 23 | May 19, 1960 | Henry Flakes | 33 | 31 | 2 | Black | New York | [1] | ||
| 24 | Walter T. Green | |||||||||
| 25 | May 20, 1960 | James Albert Boyd | 21 | 17 | 4 | Arkansas | [16] | |||
| 26 | Willie Henry Byrd | 22 | 18 | |||||||
| 27 | May 26, 1960 | Howard Draper Jr. | 28 | 26 | 2 | Texas | [19] | |||
| 28 | May 31, 1960 | Robert Junior Johnson | 29 | 28 | 1 | South Carolina | [20] | |||
| 29 | June 10, 1960 | Frank Wilson | 53 | 52 | Georgia | [21] | ||||
| 30 | June 20, 1960 | James E. Brooks | 29 | 27 | 2 | Florida | [22] | |||
| 31 | June 23, 1960 | Willard H. Phillips | 44 | 42 | New York | [23] | ||||
| 32 | June 24, 1960 | Herring Davis | 40 | 39 | 1 | Georgia | [24] | |||
| 33 | June 25, 1960 | John Richard Brodersen | 34 | 33 | White | Washington | Hanging | [1] | ||
| 34 | June 30, 1960 | Harry Eugene Fuller | 31 | 29 | 2 | Black | Virginia | Electrocution | [25] | |
| 35 | July 1, 1960 | Nathaniel Johnson | 25 | 23 | Georgia | [26] | ||||
| 36 | July 8, 1960 | Richard Thomas Cooper | 37 | 35 | California | Gas chamber | [27] | |||
| 37 | George Williams | 30 | 29 | 1 | Texas | Electrocution | [28] | |||
| 38 | July 15, 1960 | Willie Edward Philpot | 29 | 27 | 2 | [29] | ||||
| 39 | July 28, 1960 | Edward Leon Williams | 30 | 26 | 4 | White | Oklahoma | [30] | ||
| 40 | August 9, 1960 | Robert S. Harmon | 27 | 1 | California | Gas chamber | [31] | |||
| 41 | August 12, 1960 | George Moses | 30 | 29 | Black | Texas | Electrocution | [32] | ||
| 42 | August 27, 1960 | Eusebio Regalado Martinez | 27 | 24 | 3 | Hispanic | [33] | |||
| 43 | August 31, 1960 | James Spence | 32 | 30 | 2 | White | Oklahoma | [34] | ||
| 44 | September 7, 1960 | George Albert Scott | 36 | 34 | California | Gas chamber | [35] | |||
| 45 | September 16, 1960 | Emmett Earl Leggett | 20 | 16 | 4 | Arkansas | Electrocution | [36] | ||
| 46 | William Frank Nail | 28 | 26 | 2 | [37] | |||||
| 47 | October 1, 1960 | Joseph Louis Cosby | 24 | 22 | Black | Ohio | [38] | |||
| 48 | October 28, 1960 | John Bracey | 27 | 26 | 1 | Arkansas | [1] | |||
| 49 | Lawrence Gene Moore | 21 | 19 | 2 | ||||||
| 50 | November 7, 1960 | William James Tines | 37 | 34 | 3 | Tennessee | [39] | |||
| 51 | November 10, 1960 | Nathaniel Young | 42 | 41 | 1 | Mississippi | Gas chamber | [40] | ||
| 52 | November 21, 1960 | Oscar James Wimis | 44 | 43 | Georgia | Electrocution | [1] | |||
| 53 | November 30, 1960 | Samuel Morris Holmes Jr. | 22 | 20 | 2 | Texas | [41] | |||
| 54 | December 1, 1960 | Ronald Chapman | 20 | 19 | 1 | New York | [42] | |||
| 55 | December 15, 1960 | Ray Allen Young | 34 | 32 | 2 | White | Oklahoma | [43] | ||
| 56 | December 28, 1960 | Raymond Leslie Cartier | 32 | 29 | 3 | California | Gas chamber | [44] | ||
Demographics
| Gender | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 56 | 100% | 
| Female | 0 | 0% | 
| Ethnicity | ||
| Black | 35 | 63% | 
| White | 19 | 34% | 
| Hispanic | 2 | 4% | 
| State | ||
| California | 9 | 16% | 
| Arkansas | 8 | 14% | 
| Texas | 8 | 14% | 
| Georgia | 6 | 11% | 
| New York | 6 | 11% | 
| Oklahoma | 3 | 5% | 
| Florida | 2 | 4% | 
| Ohio | 2 | 4% | 
| Alabama | 1 | 2% | 
| Arizona | 1 | 2% | 
| Colorado | 1 | 2% | 
| Connecticut | 1 | 2% | 
| Mississippi | 1 | 2% | 
| Nevada | 1 | 2% | 
| New Mexico | 1 | 2% | 
| South Carolina | 1 | 2% | 
| Tennessee | 1 | 2% | 
| Utah | 1 | 2% | 
| Virginia | 1 | 2% | 
| Washington | 1 | 2% | 
| Method | ||
| Electrocution | 40 | 71% | 
| Gas chamber | 14 | 25% | 
| Firing squad | 1 | 2% | 
| Hanging | 1 | 2% | 
| Month | ||
| January | 6 | 11% | 
| February | 3 | 5% | 
| March | 4 | 7% | 
| April | 3 | 5% | 
| May | 12 | 21% | 
| June | 6 | 11% | 
| July | 5 | 9% | 
| August | 4 | 7% | 
| September | 3 | 5% | 
| October | 3 | 5% | 
| November | 4 | 7% | 
| December | 3 | 5% | 
| Age | ||
| 10–19 | 1 | 2% | 
| 20–29 | 26 | 46% | 
| 30–39 | 21 | 38% | 
| 40–49 | 7 | 13% | 
| 50–59 | 1 | 2% | 
| Total | 56 | 100% | 
Executions in recent years
| Number of executions | |
|---|---|
| 1961 | 43 | 
| 1960 | 56 | 
| 1959 | 50 | 
| Total | 149 | 
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File" (PDF). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
- ^ "People v. Jones". FindLaw.
- ^ "Bible Quoting N. M. Killer Dies With Smile on His Face". El Paso Herald-Post via newspapers.com. January 8, 1960. p. 16.
- ^ "Negro Man Sentenced To Death". Ledger-Enquirer via newspapers.com. March 12, 1959. p. 16.
- ^ "Leick v. People". Justia Law.
- ^ "Smith judge gave him big break". Tampa Bay Times. December 5, 1991.
- ^ "Steward v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Albert v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Junior Lee Williams v. H. E. Moore, Warden, Texas Department of Corrections, 262 F.2d 335 (5th Cir. 1959)". Justia Law.
- ^ "Firing Squad Executes Killer At Utah Prison". Meriden Record. March 31, 1960. p. 28.
- ^ "People v. Wade". FindLaw.
- ^ "Moon v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Documentation for the execution of Columbus Boggs". M. E. Grenander Special Collections & Archives.
- ^ "JUSTICE: The Chessman Affair". Time Magazine. March 21, 1960.
- ^ "RAPE KILLER EXECUTED; Pablo Vargas Dies in Chair for Slaying Girl, 16". The New York Times. May 13, 1960.
- ^ a b "James M. Moore and Rogers Boone, Appellants, v. Lee Henslee, Superintendent of the Arkansas Statepenitentiary, Appellee". Justia Law.
- ^ "People v. Hooton". Justia Law.
- ^ "State v. Taborsky". Justia Law.
- ^ "Rapist Dies In Chair At Huntsville". Pampa Daily News via newspapers.com. May 26, 1960. p. 6.
- ^ "State v. Johnson". Justia Law.
- ^ "Wilson v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Brooks v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Willard H. PHILLIPS, petitioner, v. NEW YORK". Legal Information Institute.
- ^ "Davis v. State". Leagle.
- ^ "Fuller v. Commonwealth". Justia Law.
- ^ "Johnson v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "People v. Cooper". Stanford Law School.
- ^ "George Williams Executed Friday". Tyler Morning Telegraph via newspapers.com. July 9, 1960. p. 16.
- ^ "Philpot v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Williams v. State". vLex.
- ^ "People v. Harmon". Stanford Law School.
- ^ "Moses v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Martinez v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Spence v. State". Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
- ^ "People v. Scott". Justia Law.
- ^ "Leggett v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Nail v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "State v. Cosby". vLex.
- ^ "The Electrocution of William Tines". TBA Law Blog. March 1, 2013.
- ^ "Negro Is Executed Thursday". Clarion-Ledger via newspapers.com. November 11, 1960. p. 6.
- ^ "Holmes v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "Man Executed for Killing". The New York Times. December 2, 1960.
- ^ "Young v. State". Justia Law.
- ^ "People v. Cartier". Stanford Law School.
| Preceded by 1959 | List of people executed in the United States in 1960 | Succeeded by 1961 |