List of individuals executed in New Jersey
Encyclopedia
No one has been executed by the state of New Jersey
since 1963, although a statute reinstating capital punishment
for murder had been in force from 1982 until 2007. Historically, at least 361 people were executed by the state between the execution of a slave
named Tom for rape
in 1690 and the execution of Ralph Hudson
for murder
on January 22, 1963. Of those executions, 187 occurred in the 20th century. The last execution for a crime other than murder (or conspiracy to murder) was of Andrew Clark in 1872 for rape. The last woman executed was Margaret Meierhoffer in 1881. Except for a dozen slaves executed by burning in the early 18th century, executions in New Jersey were by hanging until 1906 and electrocution
since then, with the exception of an execution by hanging in 1909.
In 2006, New Jersey lawmakers drafted a moratorium
on executions while a task force studied the fairness and cost of the death sentence. New Jersey had 10 people on Death Row
at the time.http://www.njadp.org/gdabout&what=faqs As of February 2008, the Corrections Department returns no results for offenders on death row: https://www6.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/capital
On December 10, 2007, the New Jersey Senate
passed bill to repeal the current death penalty statute, and replaced it with life imprisonment
without parole. On Dec. 13, 2007, the state's General Assembly adopted the same law. Governor Corzine
signed the bill into law on December 17, 2007.New Jersey Senate Bill No. 171
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
since 1963, although a statute reinstating capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for murder had been in force from 1982 until 2007. Historically, at least 361 people were executed by the state between the execution of a slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
named Tom for rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
in 1690 and the execution of Ralph Hudson
Ralph Hudson
Ralph Hudson was the last person to be executed by New Jersey.A native of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Hudson was tried and convicted of stabbing his estranged wife Myrtle Hudson to death as she worked at a Atlantic City, New Jersey restaurant on December 27, 1960...
for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
on January 22, 1963. Of those executions, 187 occurred in the 20th century. The last execution for a crime other than murder (or conspiracy to murder) was of Andrew Clark in 1872 for rape. The last woman executed was Margaret Meierhoffer in 1881. Except for a dozen slaves executed by burning in the early 18th century, executions in New Jersey were by hanging until 1906 and electrocution
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
since then, with the exception of an execution by hanging in 1909.
In 2006, New Jersey lawmakers drafted a moratorium
Moratorium (law)
A moratorium is a delay or suspension of an activity or a law. In a legal context, it may refer to the temporary suspension of a law to allow a legal challenge to be carried out....
on executions while a task force studied the fairness and cost of the death sentence. New Jersey had 10 people on Death Row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at the time.http://www.njadp.org/gdabout&what=faqs As of February 2008, the Corrections Department returns no results for offenders on death row: https://www6.state.nj.us/DOC_Inmate/capital
On December 10, 2007, the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
passed bill to repeal the current death penalty statute, and replaced it with life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
without parole. On Dec. 13, 2007, the state's General Assembly adopted the same law. Governor Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
signed the bill into law on December 17, 2007.New Jersey Senate Bill No. 171
Executions prior to 1982
- Peter KudzinowskiPeter KudzinowskiPeter Kudzinowski was a Polish-born American serial killer who committed his crimes in New Jersey.-Biography:...
– December 21, 1929 - Henry Colin CampbellHenry Colin CampbellHenry Colin Campbell , aka The Torch Murderer, was executed by the State of New Jersey for the murder of Mildred Mowry, whom he met through a personal ad placed with a "matrimonial agency". A career criminal and bigamist whose previous crimes were non-violent, Campbell married Mowry in 1929 despite...
– April 18, 1930 - Bruno HauptmannBruno HauptmannBruno Richard Hauptmann was a German ex-convict sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnapping became known as "The Crime of the Century".-Background:Hauptmann was born in Kamenz in the German Empire,...
– April 3, 1936 – this execution is notable for being part of the Lindbergh kidnappingLindbergh kidnappingThe kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
case. - Buford Tanismore – April 4, 1950
- Howard Auld – May 27, 1951
- Clarence Smith – May 13, 1952
- Frederick Dunk – May 13, 1952
- Robert Jellison – May 13, 1952
- Irving Peterson – August 26, 1952
- Theodore Walker – July 27, 1954
- James Beard – August 17, 1954
- Frank Roscus – January 4, 1955
- Eugene Monahan – January 11, 1955
- Felipe Rios – May 3, 1955
- Joaquin Rodriguez – May 3, 1955
- Jose Cruz – May 3, 1955
- Alfred Stokes – September 2, 1955
- Harry Wise – September 2, 1955
- Albert Wise – September 2, 1955
- John Henry Tune – August 21, 1956
- Fred Sturdivant – July 3, 1962
- Joseph ErnstJoseph ErnstJoseph R. Ernst was a convicted murderer who was executed at the New Jersey State Prison electric chair on July 31, 1962. He was the 159th convict to be executed in the New Jersey electric chair since 1907....
– July 31, 1962 - Ralph HudsonRalph HudsonRalph Hudson was the last person to be executed by New Jersey.A native of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Hudson was tried and convicted of stabbing his estranged wife Myrtle Hudson to death as she worked at a Atlantic City, New Jersey restaurant on December 27, 1960...
– January 22, 1963