List of individuals executed in Utah
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment
is legal in the U.S. state
of Utah
. Since 1850, a total of at least 50 individuals have been executed in Utah. A total of 9 people are under a sentence of death in the state as of June 20, 2010. The current method is lethal injection. Aggravated murder is the only crime subject to the penalty of death under Utah law.
Utah was the first state to resume executions after capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976
, when Gary Gilmore
was executed by a firing squad on January 17, 1977. Gilmore, however, demanded his own execution, that is after being convicted of murder and sentenced to death. According to some the real end of national moratorium took place in Florida
in 1979 with electrocution
of John Arthur Spenkelink, who resisted his execution.
. The state's new death penalty statutes were approved by the United States Supreme Court with the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976, allowing Utah to proceed with the executions of Dale Selby Pierre and William Andrews. Both were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes committed in 1974 prior to the reinstatement of capital punishment. They were executed 1987 and 1992 respectively. The last pre-Furman execution in Utah took place on March 30, 1960.
decides the sentence and may give a sentence of death, life imprisonment
without parole
for sentencing on or after April 27, 1992 or life imprisonment without parole for twenty years or more. Clemency rests with the State of Utah Board of Pardons and Parole and the Governor of Utah sits on the board, which makes Utah one of a handful states where the Governor has no sole power to grant clemency. no commutation of the death sentence has been given in Utah.
As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime or mentally retarded are constitutionally precluded from being executed.
in Draper, Utah
by lethal injection
. The firing squad is also available for three death row inmates who chose it prior to that option's elimination in 2004.
See source
since the national moratorium was lifted in 1976. Utah is particularly notable in being the first state to execute a prisoner, Gary Gilmore
, after the United States Supreme Court
's Gregg v. Georgia
decision validated the capital punishment statutes enacted in response to the 1972 Furman v. Georgia
decision. Utah is also the only state besides Nevada
to have used the firing squad, although executions of this type are authorized in Oklahoma
for prisoners who successfully challenge the constitutionality of lethal injection
and electrocution
. Recent changes to state law require that any future death row
inmates be executed by lethal injection
; however, any prisoner who chose a firing squad before the law change will still have this option available. Only two people executed after 1977 have chosen the firing squad over the other available options - Gilmore and John Albert Taylor
on January 21, 1996. Ronnie Lee Gardner, convicted of murdering Michael Burdell in 1985, was executed by firing squad on June 18, 2010, making him the third person since the reinstatment of capital punishment in Utah to be put to death in this manner.
Before a national moratorium on capital punishment (1967–1976) and the introduction of lethal injection
in 1980, Utah historically allowed death row inmates to choose between firing squad and hanging
, the only state to do so up until that time.
Prior to becoming a state, the Territory of Utah
introduced beheading
in 1851 as a third option of execution in accordance with the Mormon
concept of blood atonement
at the time. No prisoner chose this method and it fell out of practice in 1888.
In 1955, Utah lawmakers voted to introduce the electric chair
, but due to failure to provide appropriation, the state never used electrocution. 21-year-old Barton Kay Kirkham
was the last prisoner to be hanged by the state of Utah, in 1958. No subsequent inmate had been executed in the state in this manner by February 1980, when the Utah State Legislature
replaced the option of hanging with lethal injection.
Eight hours after 36-year-old murderer John Albert Taylor
died by firing squad on January 26, 1996, the first bill
proposing to eliminate this method of execution was introduced in the Utah House of Representatives
. In 2004, the legislature passed HB180, which removed the right of the condemned to choose their method of execution, and left lethal injection as the only remaining option in the state. The abolition of the firing squad is not retroactive
; three inmates on death row
at Utah State Prison
who chose this method of execution before the end of February 2004 will have their selections grandfathered
in. Utah's latest execution, that of 49-year-old Ronnie Lee Gardner
, was the country's first sanctioned shooting in 14 years and the first execution by a method other than lethal injection since Virginia
electrocuted Paul Warner Powell
on March 18, 2010.
and Utah Territory
before the national moratorium in 1967; six were by hanging and the rest were by firing squad. Before the establishment of Utah Territory on September 9, 1850, the garroting
of an Ute native named Patsowits in the spring of that year was the first recorded execution in the provisional State of Deseret
.
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...
is legal in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Since 1850, a total of at least 50 individuals have been executed in Utah. A total of 9 people are under a sentence of death in the state as of June 20, 2010. The current method is lethal injection. Aggravated murder is the only crime subject to the penalty of death under Utah law.
Utah was the first state to resume executions after capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976
Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia, Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 153 , reaffirmed the United States Supreme Court's acceptance of the use of the death penalty in the United States, upholding, in particular, the death sentence imposed on Troy Leon...
, when Gary Gilmore
Gary Gilmore
Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal, and murderer, who gained international notoriety for demanding that his own death sentence be fulfilled following two murders he committed in Utah. He became the first person executed in the United States after the U.S...
was executed by a firing squad on January 17, 1977. Gilmore, however, demanded his own execution, that is after being convicted of murder and sentenced to death. According to some the real end of national moratorium took place in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in 1979 with 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...
of John Arthur Spenkelink, who resisted his execution.
Reintroduction of capital punishment
Utah formally reinstated capital punishment on January 7, 1973. Earlier death penalty statutes were struck down by the 1972 United States Supreme Court decision in the case Furman v. GeorgiaFurman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
. The state's new death penalty statutes were approved by the United States Supreme Court with the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976, allowing Utah to proceed with the executions of Dale Selby Pierre and William Andrews. Both were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes committed in 1974 prior to the reinstatement of capital punishment. They were executed 1987 and 1992 respectively. The last pre-Furman execution in Utah took place on March 30, 1960.
Process
The juryJury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
decides the sentence and may give a sentence of death, 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
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
for sentencing on or after April 27, 1992 or life imprisonment without parole for twenty years or more. Clemency rests with the State of Utah Board of Pardons and Parole and the Governor of Utah sits on the board, which makes Utah one of a handful states where the Governor has no sole power to grant clemency. no commutation of the death sentence has been given in Utah.
As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime or mentally retarded are constitutionally precluded from being executed.
Method
Executions in Utah are currently performed at the Utah State PrisonUtah State Prison
Utah State Prison, or USP, is one of two prisons managed by the Utah Department of Corrections' Division of Institutional Operations. It is located in Draper, Utah, United States, about 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.-History:...
in Draper, Utah
Draper, Utah
Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah Counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Between 1990 and 2000 Draper was Utah's fastest-growing city over 5,000 people . Its population in 1990 was 7,143 and had grown to 25,220 by the 2000 census...
by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. The firing squad is also available for three death row inmates who chose it prior to that option's elimination in 2004.
Capital offenses
- Aggravated murderMurderMurder 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...
- The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, cruel or depraved (or involved torture).
- The murder was committed incident to a hijacking
- The defendant knowingly created a grave risk of death for one or more persons in addition to the victim of the offense.
- The defendant committed or attempted to commit more than one murder at the same time.
- The murder was committed by means of poison or a lethal substance.
- The murder was committed for pecuniary gain or pursuant to an agreement that the defendant would receive something of value.
- The defendant caused or directed another to commit murder, or the defendant procured the commission of the offense by payment, promise of payment, or anything of pecuniary value.
- The murder was committed to avoid or prevent arrest, to effect an escape, or to conceal the commission of a crime.
- The capital offense was committed to interfere with the lawful exercise of any government function or the enforcement of the laws.
- The defendant has been convicted of, or committed, a prior murder, a felony involving violence, or other serious felony.
- The capital offense was committed by a person who is incarcerated, has escaped, is on probation, is in jail, or is under a sentence of imprisonment. The actor was under a sentence of life imprisonment or a sentence of death at the time of the homicide.
- The victim is or has been a local, state, or federal public official, or a candidate for public office, and the homicide is based on, is caused by, or is related to that official position, act, capacity, or candidacy.
- The murder was committed against a person held as a shield, as a hostage, or for ransom
- The murder was committed against a witness in a criminal proceeding to prevent the witness from appearing, or for revenge.
- The homicide was committed while the actor was engaged in, or attempted to, or flight from committed or attempted child abuse.
- The defendant was involved in the desecration of a dead human body or dismembering, mutilation, or disfiguring of the victim's body, either before or after death, in a manner demonstrating the actor’s depravity of mind. The homicide was committed incident to the abuse or desecration of a dead body.
- The murder was committed by means of any weapon of mass destruction.
See source
List of individuals executed in Utah since 1976
A total of seven individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the state of UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
since the national moratorium was lifted in 1976. Utah is particularly notable in being the first state to execute a prisoner, Gary Gilmore
Gary Gilmore
Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal, and murderer, who gained international notoriety for demanding that his own death sentence be fulfilled following two murders he committed in Utah. He became the first person executed in the United States after the U.S...
, after the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
's Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia, Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 153 , reaffirmed the United States Supreme Court's acceptance of the use of the death penalty in the United States, upholding, in particular, the death sentence imposed on Troy Leon...
decision validated the capital punishment statutes enacted in response to the 1972 Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
decision. Utah is also the only state besides Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
to have used the firing squad, although executions of this type are authorized in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
for prisoners who successfully challenge the constitutionality of lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
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...
. Recent changes to state law require that any future 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...
inmates be executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
; however, any prisoner who chose a firing squad before the law change will still have this option available. Only two people executed after 1977 have chosen the firing squad over the other available options - Gilmore and John Albert Taylor
John Albert Taylor
John Albert Taylor was an American who was convicted of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon in the state of Florida, and sexual assault and murder in the state of Utah. Taylor's own sister tipped off police in June 1989 after 11-year-old Charla King was found raped and strangled to death in...
on January 21, 1996. Ronnie Lee Gardner, convicted of murdering Michael Burdell in 1985, was executed by firing squad on June 18, 2010, making him the third person since the reinstatment of capital punishment in Utah to be put to death in this manner.
| # | Name | Date of execution | Method of execution | Victim(s) | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Gilmore Gary Gilmore Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal, and murderer, who gained international notoriety for demanding that his own death sentence be fulfilled following two murders he committed in Utah. He became the first person executed in the United States after the U.S... |
January 17, 1977 | firing squad | Ben Bushnell and Max David Jensen | Scott Matheson |
| 2 | Pierre Dale Selby Hi-Fi Murders The Hi-Fi murders were the brutal killings of three people during a robbery at a home audio store in Ogden, Utah, on April 22, 1974. Five people had been held hostage but two survived with severe injuries. All were bound and forced to drink corrosive drain cleaner. One victim had a pen kicked into... |
August 28, 1987 | lethal injection | Stanley Walker, Michelle Ansley, and Carol Naisbitt | Norman Bangerter |
| 3 | Arthur Bishop Arthur Gary Bishop Arthur Gary Bishop was a convicted American child molester and serial killer. He confessed to the murders of five young boys in 1983, as a result of a routine police investigation.-Early life:... |
June 10, 1988 | lethal injection | Alonzo Daniels, Kim Peterson, Danny Davis, Troy Ward, and Graeme Cunningham | Norman Bangerter |
| 4 | William Andrews Hi-Fi Murders The Hi-Fi murders were the brutal killings of three people during a robbery at a home audio store in Ogden, Utah, on April 22, 1974. Five people had been held hostage but two survived with severe injuries. All were bound and forced to drink corrosive drain cleaner. One victim had a pen kicked into... |
July 30, 1992 | lethal injection | Stanley Walker, Michelle Ansley, and Carol Naisbitt | Norman Bangerter |
| 5 | John Albert Taylor John Albert Taylor John Albert Taylor was an American who was convicted of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon in the state of Florida, and sexual assault and murder in the state of Utah. Taylor's own sister tipped off police in June 1989 after 11-year-old Charla King was found raped and strangled to death in... |
January 27, 1996 | firing squad | Charla Nicole King | Michael Leavitt |
| 6 | Joseph Mitchell Parsons Joseph Mitchell Parsons Joseph Mitchell "Yogi" Parsons was an American who was executed for the August 1987 murder of Richard Lynn Ernest. Parsons hitched a ride with Ernest in California and stabbed him to death at a remote rest area in Utah... |
October 15, 1999 | lethal injection | Richard Lynn Ernest | Michael Leavitt |
| 7 | Ronnie Lee Gardner Ronnie Lee Gardner Ronnie Lee Gardner was an American criminal who received the death penalty for murder in 1985, and was executed by firing squad by the state of Utah in 2010... |
June 18, 2010 | firing squad | Michael Burdell (also killed Melvyn Otterstrom and wounded George "Nick" Kirk but was executed for murdering Burdell) | Gary Herbert |
Method
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
in 1980, Utah historically allowed death row inmates to choose between firing squad and hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, the only state to do so up until that time.
Prior to becoming a state, the Territory of Utah
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
introduced beheading
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
in 1851 as a third option of execution in accordance with the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
concept of blood atonement
Blood atonement
In mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine that teaches that murder is so heinous that the atonement of Jesus does not apply. Thus, in order to atone for these sins, the perpetrators must have their blood shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering...
at the time. No prisoner chose this method and it fell out of practice in 1888.
In 1955, Utah lawmakers voted to introduce the electric chair
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...
, but due to failure to provide appropriation, the state never used electrocution. 21-year-old Barton Kay Kirkham
Barton Kay Kirkham
Barton Kay Kirkham was a deserter of the United States Air Force who was discharged in 1955 after committing a robbery in Colorado...
was the last prisoner to be hanged by the state of Utah, in 1958. No subsequent inmate had been executed in the state in this manner by February 1980, when the Utah State Legislature
Utah State Legislature
The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 Representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 State Senators...
replaced the option of hanging with lethal injection.
Eight hours after 36-year-old murderer John Albert Taylor
John Albert Taylor
John Albert Taylor was an American who was convicted of burglary and carrying a concealed weapon in the state of Florida, and sexual assault and murder in the state of Utah. Taylor's own sister tipped off police in June 1989 after 11-year-old Charla King was found raped and strangled to death in...
died by firing squad on January 26, 1996, the first bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
proposing to eliminate this method of execution was introduced in the Utah House of Representatives
Utah House of Representatives
The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district contains an average population of 35,000 people...
. In 2004, the legislature passed HB180, which removed the right of the condemned to choose their method of execution, and left lethal injection as the only remaining option in the state. The abolition of the firing squad is not retroactive
Ex post facto law
An ex post facto law or retroactive law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law...
; three inmates 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 Utah State Prison
Utah State Prison
Utah State Prison, or USP, is one of two prisons managed by the Utah Department of Corrections' Division of Institutional Operations. It is located in Draper, Utah, United States, about 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.-History:...
who chose this method of execution before the end of February 2004 will have their selections grandfathered
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
in. Utah's latest execution, that of 49-year-old Ronnie Lee Gardner
Ronnie Lee Gardner
Ronnie Lee Gardner was an American criminal who received the death penalty for murder in 1985, and was executed by firing squad by the state of Utah in 2010...
, was the country's first sanctioned shooting in 14 years and the first execution by a method other than lethal injection since Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
electrocuted Paul Warner Powell
Paul Warner Powell
Paul Warner Powell was a convicted murderer who was executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia via electric chair. He is currently the last person executed in the United States using this method.-Murder:...
on March 18, 2010.
Executions in Utah before 1967
44 executions occurred in the State of UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
before the national moratorium in 1967; six were by hanging and the rest were by firing squad. Before the establishment of Utah Territory on September 9, 1850, the garroting
Garrote
A garrote or garrote vil is a handheld weapon, most often referring to a ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle someone....
of an Ute native named Patsowits in the spring of that year was the first recorded execution in the provisional State of Deseret
State of Deseret
The State of Deseret was a proposed state of the United States, propositioned in 1849 by Latter-day Saint settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government...
.
| # | Name | Date of execution | Method of execution | Victim(s) | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Patsowits | Spring 1850 | garroting Garrote A garrote or garrote vil is a handheld weapon, most often referring to a ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle someone.... |
An emigrant settler | — |
| 1 2 |
Antelope and Long Hair | September 15, 1854 | hanging Hanging Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain... |
Two sons of a Mormon bishop in Cedar Valley | Brigham Young Brigham Young Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah... |
| 3 | Thomas H. Ferguson | October 28, 1858 | hanging | Alexander Carpenter | Alfred Cumming Alfred Cumming (governor) Alfred Cumming was appointed governor of the Utah territory in 1858 replacing Brigham Young following the Utah War... |
| 4 | William Cockcroft William Cockcroft William "Bill" Cockcroft DL of Maidstone, United Kingdom is Chief Scout Commissioner of England and Director of the 21st World Scout Jamboree.... |
September 21, 1861 | firing squad | Robert Brown | vacant |
| – | "Unknown Man" | 1862 | firing squad | Unknown person | |
| 5 | Jason R. Luce | January 12, 1864 | firing squad | Samuel R. Bunton | James Duane Doty James Duane Doty James Duane Doty was a land speculator and politician in the United States who played a large role in the development of Wisconsin and Utah Territory.-Legal career:... |
| 6 | Robert Sutton Robert Sutton Robert Sutton may refer to:*Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton , Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in 1625 and again in 1640*Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron Lexinton , English diplomat... |
October 10, 1866 | firing squad | Frederick White | Charles Durkee Charles Durkee Charles Durkee was an American politician and a Congressman and Senator from Wisconsin.-Early life:Durkee was born in Royalton, Vermont. He became a merchant and moved to Wisconsin in 1836... |
| 7 | Chauncy W. Millard | January 29, 1869 | firing squad | Harlem P. Swett | vacant |
| 8 | John Doyle Lee John D. Lee John Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:... |
March 23, 1877 | firing squad | Mountain Meadows massacre Mountain Meadows massacre The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train, at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857 in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by the Iron County district of the Utah Territorial Militia and some local... |
George W. Emery George W. Emery George W. Emery was the eleventh governor of Utah Territory. Emery was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant for Supervisor of Internal Revenue for the confederate states from 1870 to 1874 and governor in 1875. After his term ended in 1880, the Utah Legislature named Emery County, Utah in... |
| 9 | Wallace Wilkerson Wallace Wilkerson Wallace Wilkerson was an American stockman who was sentenced to death by the Territory of Utah for the murder of William Baxter. Wilkerson professed his innocence, but chose to die by firing squad over hanging or decapitation... |
May 16, 1879 | firing squad (botched) | William Baxter | George W. Emery |
| 10 | Frederick Hopt (a.k.a. Fred Welcome) | August 11, 1887 | firing squad | John Franklin Turner | Caleb Walton West Caleb Walton West Caleb Walton West was Governor of Utah Territory twice, 1886–1888 and 1893-1896.Born in Cynthiana, Kentucky in Harrison County, Kentucky, he was a Confederate veteran and a municipal judge in Kentucky. He was the last Governor of Utah before statehood.-References:... |
| 11 | Enoch Davis | September 14, 1894 | firing squad | Enoch's wife | Caleb Walton West |
| 12 | Charles H. Thiede | August 7, 1896 | hanging | Thiede's wife | Heber Manning Wells Heber Manning Wells Heber Manning Wells was an American politician and the first Governor of the State of Utah. Utah gained statehood January 4, 1896; Wells served as governor from January 6, 1896 until January 2, 1905.-Biography:... |
| 13 | Pat Coughlin | December 15, 1896 | firing squad | Deputy Sherriff Dawes and Constable Stagg | Heber Manning Wells |
| 14 | Peter Mortensen | November 20, 1903 | firing squad | James R. Hay | Heber Manning Wells |
| 15 | Frank Rose Frank Rose Francis Leslie Rose FRS was a British chemist.He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1957 when his candidacy citation read : "Distinguished for his researches in organic chemistry with particular reference to chemotherapy. As leader of the Medicinal Chemicals Section of Imperial Chemical... |
April 22, 1904 | firing squad | Rose's wife | Heber Manning Wells |
| 16 | J. J. Morris | April 30, 1912 | hanging | Morris' wife | William Spry William Spry William Spry was an American politician and the third Governor of Utah.Spry was born at Windsor, Berkshire, England. He emigrated to Utah Territory with his parents at the age of eleven.... |
| 17 | Jules C. E. Szirmay (a.k.a. Jules Zirmay) | May 22, 1912 | firing squad | A school boy | William Spry |
| 18 | Harry Thorne | September 26, 1912 | firing squad | A grocery clerk | William Spry |
| 19 | Thomas Riley | October 24, 1912 | firing squad | A grocery clerk | William Spry |
| 20 | Frank Romeo | February 20, 1913 | firing squad | Albert Jenkins | William Spry |
| 21 | Joe Hill Joe Hill Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle , and also known as Joseph Hillström was a Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World... |
November 19, 1915 | firing squad | John G. Morrison and his son Arlington | William Spry |
| 22 | Howard DeWeese | May 24, 1918 | firing squad | His wife | William Spry |
| 23 | John Borich | January 20, 1919 | firing squad | A woman for insurance money | William Spry |
| 24 | Steve Maslich | January 20, 1922 | firing squad | A man in Salt Lake City | Charles R. Mabey Charles R. Mabey Charles Rendell Mabey was an American politician and the fifth Governor of Utah. He served as governor from 1921 to 1925. He was a Republican.Mabey was born in Bountiful, Utah... |
| 25 | Nick Oblizalo | June 9, 1922 | firing squad | A man in Salt Lake City | Charles R. Mabey |
| 26 | George H. Gardner | August 31, 1923 | firing squad | Joseph Irvine and a police officer | Charles R. Mabey |
| 27 | Omer R. Woods | January 18, 1924 | firing squad | Woods' invalid wife | Charles R. Mabey |
| 28 | Henry C. Hett (a.k.a. George Allen) | February 20, 1925 | firing squad | Police sergeant Pierce | George Dern George Dern George Henry Dern was an American politician, mining man, and businessman. He is probably best remembered for co-inventing the Holt–Dern ore roasting process, as well as for his tenure as United States Secretary of War from 1933 to his death in 1936. He also served as the sixth Governor of Utah... |
| 29 | Pedro Cano | May 19, 1925 | firing squad | A woman in Park City | George Dern |
| 30 | Ralph W. Seyboldt | January 15, 1926 | firing squad | Patrolman David H Crowther | George Dern George Dern George Henry Dern was an American politician, mining man, and businessman. He is probably best remembered for co-inventing the Holt–Dern ore roasting process, as well as for his tenure as United States Secretary of War from 1933 to his death in 1936. He also served as the sixth Governor of Utah... |
| 31 | Edward McGowan | February 5, 1926 | firing squad | Bob Blevins (and raped his wife and daughters) | George Dern |
| 32 | Delbert Green | July 10, 1936 | firing squad | Green's foster father/uncle James Green, mother-in-law/aunt, and wife | Henry H. Blood Henry H. Blood Henry Hooper Blood was a prominent businessman and the seventh Governor of the state of Utah.-Biography:Henry was born to William Hooper Blood, a farmer and city councilman, and Jane Wilkie Hooper. He went to local schools and attended Brigham Young Academy at Provo City, Utah, which later turned... |
| 33 | John W. Deering John Deering John W. Deering was the subject of an experiment to observe what would happen to the human heart during death by gunshot. Deering, an American facing execution by the state of Utah for the May 1938 murder of Oliver R. Meredith Jr., volunteered to have himself hooked up to an electrocardiogram... |
October 31, 1938 | firing squad | Oliver R. Meredith Jr. | Henry H. Blood |
| 34 | Donald Lawton Condit | July 30, 1942 | firing squad | Harold A. Thorne | Herbert B. Maw Herbert B. Maw Herbert Brown Maw was an American politician and the eighth Governor of Utah. He served as governor from 1941 to 1949. He was a Democrat.He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-Early life:... |
| 35 | Robert Walter Avery | February 5, 1943 | firing squad | Detective Hoyt L. Gates | Herbert B. Maw |
| 36 | Austin Cox Jr. | June 19, 1944 | firing squad | Judge Lewis V. Trueman (also killed two other men and two women) | Herbert B. Maw |
| 37 | James Joseph Roedl | July 13, 1945 | firing squad | Abigail Agnes Williams | Herbert B. Maw |
| 38 | Eliseo J. Mares Jr. | September 10, 1951 | firing squad | Jack D. Stallings | J. Bracken Lee J. Bracken Lee Joseph Bracken Lee was a political figure in the state of Utah, United States. A Republican, he served two terms as the ninth Governor of Utah , six two-year terms as mayor of Price, Utah , and three terms as the 27th mayor of Salt Lake City ., Lee is the most recent Governor of Utah who was not a... |
| 39 | Ray Dempsey Gardner | September 29, 1951 | firing squad | Shirley Jean Gretzinger | J. Bracken Lee |
| 40 | Don Jesse Neal | July 1, 1955 | firing squad | Sgt. Owen T. Farley | J. Bracken Lee |
| 41 42 |
Verne Alfred Braasch and Melvin Leroy Sullivan | May 11, 1956 | firing squad | Howard Manzione | J. Bracken Lee |
| 43 | Barton Kay Kirkham Barton Kay Kirkham Barton Kay Kirkham was a deserter of the United States Air Force who was discharged in 1955 after committing a robbery in Colorado... |
June 7, 1958 | hanging (last in Utah) | David Avon Frame (also killed Ruth Holmes Webster but was executed for murdering Frame) | George Dewey Clyde George Dewey Clyde George Dewey Clyde was an American politician and the tenth Governor of Utah, serving two terms from 1957 till 1965 as a Republican.... |
| 44 | James W. Rodgers James W. Rodgers James W. Rodgers was an American who was sentenced to death by the state of Utah for the murder of miner Charles Merrifield in 1957. In his final statement before his execution in 1960, Rodgers requested a bulletproof vest... |
March 30, 1960 | firing squad (last in Utah before 1967) | Charles Merrifield | George Dewey Clyde |
See also
- Blood atonementBlood atonementIn mormonism, blood atonement is a controversial doctrine that teaches that murder is so heinous that the atonement of Jesus does not apply. Thus, in order to atone for these sins, the perpetrators must have their blood shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
- Religion and capital punishmentReligion and capital punishmentMost major world religions take an ambiguous position on the morality of capital punishment. Religions are often based on a body of teachings and the standards of present-day Western civilization, and the Old Testament, as well as the Qur'an, contains many cases of criminals being executed...
External links
- Aggravated murder. Utah State Legislature. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
- Capital felony – Penalties. Utah State Legislature. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
- Capital felony – Sentencing proceeding. Utah State Legislature. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.