List of individuals executed in Louisiana

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...

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 Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. A total of 659 individuals have been executed in Louisiana

Louisiana

including 28 since 1976. Toni Jo Henry

Toni Jo Henry

Toni Jo Henry , , was the only woman executed in Louisiana's electric chair .-Early life:...

(January 3, 1916 - November 28, 1942), born Annie Beatrice McQuiston, was the only woman executed in Louisiana's 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...

(for the murder of Joseph P. Calloway). A total of 88 people are under a sentence of death

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...

in the state as of 13 October 2007. The current method of execution

Capital punishment

in Louisiana

Louisiana

is 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...

. Capital crimes in Louisiana are: First degree 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...

(premeditation does not have to be a part of it, but instead requires specific intent), and treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

. Formerly the state also allowed execution for the aggravated 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...

of a victim under the age of 12. The 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...

, however, ruled it unconstitutional on 25 June 2008 in Kennedy v. Louisiana
Kennedy v. Louisiana
Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause did not permit a state to punish the crime of rape of a child with the death penalty; more broadly, the power of the state...

, saying "there is a distinction between intentional first-degree murder on the one hand and nonhomicide crimes against individual persons".

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.

Process

The jury decides the sentence and may give a sentence

Sentence (law)

In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...

of life imprisonment without parole for capital offenses. A unanimous verdict is needed is order to convict of defendant of a capital crime and sentence to death. Clemency rests with the governor of Louisiana, who must have a recommendation from a board.

Method

The male death row is at the Louisiana State Penitentiary

Louisiana State Penitentiary

The Louisiana State Penitentiary is a prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is the largest maximum security prison in the United States with 5,000 offenders and 1,800 staff...

in West Feliciana Parish

West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 15,111 people, 3,645 households, and 2,704 families residing in the parish. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 4,485 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...

. The female death row is at Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women

Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women

Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women is a prison for women located in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. It is the only female correctional facility of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Elayn Hunt Correctional Center is immediately west of LCIW...

in St. Gabriel

St. Gabriel, Louisiana

St. Gabriel is a city in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,677 at the 2010 census. The city of St. Gabriel includes the areas of Sunshine and Carville. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area....

.

Executions in Louisiana are currently performed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where Louisiana

Louisiana

's method of execution is by lethal injection

Lethal injection

. Lethal injection is the sole method of execution. Previous methods: Hanging up to 1941 and then electrocution for 61 people from 1941 to 1991.

Capital offenses

Treason against the state of Louisiana.
First degree murder:
- The murder was committed during the commission of, attempt of, or escape from a specified felony (aggravated kidnapping, second degree kidnapping, aggravated escape, aggravated arson, aggravated rape, forcible rape, aggravated burglary, armed robbery, assault by drive-by shooting, first degree robbery, second degree robbery, simple robbery, terrorism, cruelty to juveniles, or second degree cruelty to juveniles).
- The victim was a firefighter or peace officer engaged in his or her lawful duties.
- The offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm upon more than one person.
- The murder was committed for pecuniary gain or pursuant to an agreement that the defendant would receive something of value.
- The victim was under the age of 12 years.
- The victim was 65 years or older.
- The murder was committed during an illegal drug deal.
- The murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in "ritualistic acts".
- The murder was committed while the defendant was the subject of a restraining order protecting the victim.
- The murder was committed upon a victim who was a witness to a crime or was a member of the immediate family of a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion.

Individuals executed since 1976

A total of 28 individuals convicted of murder have been executed

Capital punishment

by the state of Louisiana since 1976:

	Executed person	Date of execution	Method	Victims	Under Governor
1	Robert Wayne Williams Robert W. Williams Robert Wayne Williams was convicted of the January 5, 1979 murder of Willie Kelly, a 67 year old security guard. He was executed in 1983 by the State of Louisiana by electric chair...	14 December 1983	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...	Willie Kelly.	David C. Treen David C. Treen David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
2	Johnny Taylor, Jr. Johnny Taylor, Jr. Johnny Taylor, Jr. was a convicted murderer who was executed by electrocution at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola on February 29, 1984.-Overview:...	29 February 1984	electric chair	David Vogler.	David C. Treen
3	Elmo Patrick Sonnier Elmo Patrick Sonnier Elmo Patrick Sonnier was a convicted murderer and rapist who was executed by electrocution at Angola in Louisiana on April 5, 1984...	5 April 1984	electric chair	Loretta Bourque and David LeBlanc.	Edwin Edwards Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century...
4	Timothy G. Baldwin	10 September 1984	electric chair	Mary Lee Peters.	Edwin Edwards
5	Ernest Knighton, Jr.	30 October 1984	electric chair	Ralph Shell.	Edwin Edwards
6	Robert Lee Willie Robert Lee Willie Robert Lee Willie was a convict on Death Row at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Sister Helen Prejean, one of the sisters of St Joseph of Medailles, served as his spiritual adviser. She based her book Dead Man Walking on him and Elmo Patrick Sonnier...	28 December 1984	electric chair	Faith Hathaway.	Edwin Edwards
7	David Dene Martin	4 January 1985	electric chair	Bobby Todd.	Edwin Edwards
8	Benjamin Berry	7 June 1987	electric chair	Robert Cochran.	Edwin Edwards
9	Alvin R. Moore, Jr.	8 June 1987	electric chair	Jo Ann Wilson.	Edwin Edwards
10	Jimmy L. Glass Jimmy L. Glass Jimmy L. Glass was an American convicted murderer, executed by the state of Louisiana. He is probably best known not for his crime, but as petitioner in the U.S. Supreme Court case Glass v. Louisiana....	12 June 1987	electric chair	Newt Brown and Erlene Brown.	Edwin Edwards
11	Jimmy Wingo	16 June 1987	electric chair	Newt Brown and Erlene Brown.	Edwin Edwards
12	Willie Celestine	20 July 1987	electric chair	Marcelaine Richard.	Edwin Edwards
13	Willie Watson	24 July 1987	electric chair	Kathy Newman.	Edwin Edwards
14	John E. Brogdon	30 July 1987	electric chair	Barbara Jo Brown.	Edwin Edwards
15	Sterling J. Rault, Jr.	24 August 1987	electric chair	Jane Ellen Francioni.	Edwin Edwards
16	Wayne Robert Felde	15 March 1988	electric chair	Glen Thompkins.	Buddy Roemer Buddy Roemer Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
17	Leslie Lowenfield	13 April 1988	electric chair	Shiela Thomas, Shantel Osborne, Carol Osborne, Owen Griffin, and Myrtle Griffin.	Buddy Roemer
18	Edward R. Byme, Jr.	14 June 1988	electric chair	Robert Johnson.	Buddy Roemer
19	Dalton Prejean Dalton Prejean Dalton Prejean was an American murderer. He was tried, convicted, and executed by the electric chair in Louisiana for the murder of Louisiana State Police Trooper Donald Cleveland. Prejean was 17 years old at the time of the murder.-Background:Prejean was the second of four children...	18 May 1990	electric chair	Donald Cleveland.	Buddy Roemer
20	Andrew Lee Jones Andrew Lee Jones Andrew Lee Jones was an American executed for murder. He was tried, convicted, and executed in the electric chair in Louisiana for the murder of Tumekica Jackson...	22 July 1991	electric chair	Tumekica Jackson.	Buddy Roemer
21	Robert Wayne Sawyer Robert Sawyer (murderer) Robert Wayne Sawyer was an American murderer. He was tried, convicted, and executed by lethal injection in Louisiana for the murder of Frances Arwood. He was the first inmate put to death by lethal injection in Louisiana...	5 March 1993	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...	Frances Arwood.	Edwin Edwards
22	Thomas Lee Ward Thomas Lee Ward Thomas Lee Ward was an American murderer. He was tried, convicted, and executed by lethal injection in Louisiana for the murder of his stepfather-in-law Wilbert John Spencer.- Overview :...	16 March 1995	lethal injection	Wilbert John Spencer.	Edwin Edwards
23	Antonio G. James Antonio James Antonio G. James was an American murderer. He was tried and executed in Louisiana for the murder of Henry Silver. This case is notable not for any unusual or intrinsic aspect, but for being one of the few such cases that ever comes to the attention of the general public...	1 March 1996	lethal injection	Henry Silver.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr. Murphy J. Foster, Jr. Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
24	John Ashley Brown, Jr. John A. Brown, Jr. John Ashley Brown, Jr. was an American murderer. He was tried and executed in Louisiana for the murder of Omer Laughlin.- Crime :...	24 April 1997	lethal injection	Omer Laughlin.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
25	Dobie Gillis Williams Dobie Gillis Williams Dobie Gillis Williams was convicted and executed in Louisiana for the murder of Sonja Knippers. In 2005, Williams was one of two subjects of a book by anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean...	8 January 1999	lethal injection	Sonja Knippers.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
26	Feltus Taylor, Jr. Feltus Taylor Feltus Taylor, Jr. was an American murderer. He was convicted and later executed by the state of Louisiana for robbery and the murder of Donna Ponsano.-Crime :...	6 June 2000	lethal injection	Donna Ponsano.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
27	Leslie Dale Martin Leslie Dale Martin Leslie Dale Martin was an American murderer. He was convicted and later executed for the rape and murder of Christina Burgin.-Crime:...	10 May 2002	lethal injection	Christina Burgin.	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
28	Gerald Bordelon	7 January 2010	lethal injection	Courtney LeBlanc	Bobby Jindal Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....

Notable cases

The only two people in the United States who were sentenced to die (after reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976) for committing a rape that did not result in death were convicted in Louisiana courts: Patrick O. Kennedy and Richard L. Davis. Kennedy's case has led to a challenge before the Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

, which was heard in April 2008. The court ruled in their favor, overturning their death sentences but upholding their convictions.

On Saturday, August 29, 2009—the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

--a jury

Jury

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,...

in Orleans Parish sentenced Michael Anderson to death on each of five counts of first degree murder for his execution style shooting of five teenagers on June 17, 2006 http://nola.live.advance.net/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1251609856268020.xml&coll=1. The quintuple slaying, which occurred as the nation watched New Orleans begin to rebuild in the aftermath of the storm, drew national attention to the violent crime problems plaguing the city and prompted then-Governor Kathleen Blanco

Kathleen Blanco

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana....

to call in the Louisiana National Guard

Louisiana National Guard

The Louisiana National Guard consists of the:*Louisiana Army National Guard** includes the U.S. 256th Infantry Brigade*Louisiana Air National Guard-External links:*** compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...

to help the New Orleans Police Department

New Orleans Police Department

The New Orleans Police Department has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts....

patrol the streets of the city. The sentence was especially significant as it marked the first time in twelve years that an Orleans Parish jury had sent a person to the state's 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 Louisiana State Penitentiary

Louisiana State Penitentiary

in Angola, Louisiana.

External links

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