Donald DeMag
Encyclopedia
Donald DeMag was the last person executed
by Vermont
.
Prior to his death sentence, DeMag had been sentenced to life imprisonment
after being convicted of murder
. In 1952, DeMag and fellow-prisoner Francis Blair escaped from the state prison in Windsor
by crashing a laundry truck through the front gates.
While on the run, DeMag and Blair had attacked Elizabeth Weatherup and her husband in Springfield, Vermont
. DeMag and Blair beat the couple with a lead pipe as they attempted to rob them. Weatherup died of her injuries. Two days after their escape, DeMag and Blair were recaptured and tried for first-degree murder. They were both convicted and sentenced to death by electric chair
.
Blair and DeMag were both executed by electric chair. Blair was executed on 8 February 1954. DeMag was executed on 8 December.
Although DeMag was the last person executed by Vermont, he was not the last person to be sentenced to death by a Vermont court. In 1957, Lionel Goyet was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted six months later and Goyet was pardoned and released in 1969. The death penalty was abolished by Vermont in 1965.
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...
by Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Prior to his death sentence, DeMag had been sentenced to 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...
after being convicted of 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...
. In 1952, DeMag and fellow-prisoner Francis Blair escaped from the state prison in Windsor
Windsor, Vermont
Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and...
by crashing a laundry truck through the front gates.
While on the run, DeMag and Blair had attacked Elizabeth Weatherup and her husband in Springfield, Vermont
Springfield, Vermont
Springfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 9,373 at the 2010 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, the township was chartered on August 20, 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth and awarded to Gideon Lyman and 61 others...
. DeMag and Blair beat the couple with a lead pipe as they attempted to rob them. Weatherup died of her injuries. Two days after their escape, DeMag and Blair were recaptured and tried for first-degree murder. They were both convicted and sentenced to death by 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...
.
Blair and DeMag were both executed by electric chair. Blair was executed on 8 February 1954. DeMag was executed on 8 December.
Although DeMag was the last person executed by Vermont, he was not the last person to be sentenced to death by a Vermont court. In 1957, Lionel Goyet was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted six months later and Goyet was pardoned and released in 1969. The death penalty was abolished by Vermont in 1965.