List of people executed in the United States in 1961

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

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 Bunch 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

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

Number of executions
1962 47
1961 43
1960 56
Total 146

References

  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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