List of individuals executed in Illinois
Encyclopedia
A total of 12 individuals convicted of murder have been executed by the state of Illinois
since 1977. All were executed by lethal injection
. Governor
Pat Quinn
signed legislation on March 9, 2011 to abolish the death penalty in Illinois, and commuted the death sentences of the fifteen inmates on Illinois' death row
to life imprisonment
.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
since 1977. All were 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...
. Governor
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn (politician)
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Quinn III is the 41st and current Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously elected three times to statewide office, Quinn was the sitting lieutenant governor and became governor on January 29, 2009, when the previous governor, Rod Blagojevich,...
signed legislation on March 9, 2011 to abolish the death penalty in Illinois, and commuted the death sentences of the fifteen inmates on Illinois' 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...
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...
.
| Executed person | Date of execution | Victims | Under Governor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Walker Charles Walker (murderer) Charles Walker was convicted of the murders of Kevin Paule, 21, and his fiancee Sharon Winker, 25, of Mascoutah, Illinois. Looking for beer money, Walker robbed them of $40 and shot them, while the couple fished in a St. Clair County, Illinois creek June 18, 1983... |
12 September 1990 | Kevin Pauls and Sharon Winker | James R. Thompson James R. Thompson James Robert Thompson, Jr. , also known as Big Jim Thompson, was the 37th and longest serving Governor of the US state of Illinois... |
| 2 | John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy John Wayne Gacy, Jr. was an American serial killer, rapist and clown who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978. Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawlspace of his home, buried three others elsewhere on his property, and discarded the... |
10 May 1994 | Timothy McCoy, John Butkovitch, Darrell Sampson, Randall Reffett, Sam Stapleton, Michael Bonnin, William Carroll, Rick Johnston, Kenneth Parker, Michael Marino, Gregory Godzik, John Szyc, Jon Prestidge, Matthew Bowman, Robert Gilroy, John Mowery, Russell Nelson, Robert Winch, Tommy Boling, David Talsma, William Kindred, Timothy O'Rourke, Frank Landingin, James Mazzara, Robert Piest, 8 other unidentified males | James Edgar Jim Edgar James Edgar is an American politician who was the 38th Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999 and Illinois Secretary of State from 1981 to 1991. As a moderate Republican in a largely blue-leaning state, Edgar was a popular and successful governor, leaving office with high approval ratings... |
| 3 | Hernando Williams | 22 March 1995 | Linda Goldstone | James Edgar |
| 4 | James P. Free, Jr. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DA1F30F930A15750C0A963958260 | 6 April 1995 | Bonnie Serpico | James Edgar |
| 5 | Girvies Davis | 17 May 1995 | Charles Biebel | James Edgar |
| 6 | Charles Albanese | 20 September 1995 | Michael Albanese, Marion Mueller, and Mary Lambert | James Edgar |
| 7 | George Del Vecchio | 22 November 1995 | Tony Conzoneri | James Edgar |
| 8 | Raymond Lee Stewart | 18 September 1996 | Willie Fredd, Albert Pearson, Kevin Kaiser, Kenny Faust, Richard Boeck, and Donald Rains | James Edgar |
| 9 | Walter Stewart | 19 November 1997 | Thomas Paviopoulos and Dinalo Rodica | James Edgar |
| 10 | Durlyn Edmonds | 19 November 1997 | Richard Lee Miller | James Edgar |
| 11 | Lloyd Wayne Hampton | 21 January 1998 | Roy Pendleton | James Edgar |
| 12 | Andrew Kokoraleis Ripper Crew Ripper Crew or Chicago Rippers was a satanic cult and organized crime group composed of Robin Gecht and three associates . They were suspected in the disappearances of 18 women in Chicago, Illinois in 1981 and '82... |
17 March 1999 | Lorraine Ann Borowski | George Ryan George Ryan George Homer Ryan, Sr. was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ryan became nationally known when in 2000 he imposed a moratorium on executions and "raised the national debate on capital punishment"... |