It is thought that altogether around 505 women were put to death in America between 1608 and 1900. My friend Rob Gallagher’s excellent “Before the Needles” website details the names, crimes, race, and other details of 317 of these women whose executions can be fully verified (link to this site at the end of this article). Little interest was paid to the execution of slaves in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, so precise numbers are hard to define. Some states, such as Mississippi, kept virtually no records of executions, although they are thought to have hanged around eight women.
There has always been a marked reluctance to execute women, especially white women, and thus they only represent a tiny proportion of all the executions carried out in this period. Initially, most hangings were carried out in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as these were the first areas colonized and subjected to British-style laws and capital punishment by hanging. Some states never executed a woman.
Of these 317 verifiable cases:
- 211 women were put to death for murder,
- 7 for attempted murder, and
- 2 for conspiracy to murder.
26 were hanged for witchcraft, 17 for arson, and the rest for various other crimes including concealing a birth and burglary in a dwelling house. One woman was hanged for adultery.
Just nine more women were to die on the gallows in the 20th century, as states moved away from hanging and adopted the electric chair and the gas chamber.
Execution Methods
Hanging was the normal method of execution nationwide, inherited from British rule, for both sexes up to the introduction of the electric chair in 1890. It was the method in 310 of these cases. Fifteen women were burned at the stake during this period, the last in North Carolina in 1805. One woman, Martha Place, was electrocuted in New York state in March 1899. She was the only woman to die by this means in the 19th century.
The bulk of these executions were public spectacles, and women were frequently put to death alongside men, especially where they had both been convicted of the same crimes. There were 156 instances of this up to 1899—just over half of all the female executions.
Most hangings were carried out by the sheriffs of the town or county where the death sentence had been passed. The prisoners seldom had pain-free deaths, as the sheriffs were not typically proficient hangmen and did not know how to work out the correct drop to ensure breaking of the neck; thus, the prisoner usually died by strangulation.
In early times, condemned prisoners were often hanged from the branch of a tree, being turned off the back of a cart, or from a horse on which, in the case of women, they rode side saddle. The use of a gallows with a trap door and a drop was only common from the 1870s onwards. In some instances, the gallows was designed to jerk the prisoner into the air by the release of a weight, and this was used on several women in the late 1800s.
Crimes and Social Context
Women were often executed for the murder of their illegitimate children—it was a great stigma to have a baby outside marriage, and this was why some of them decided to risk killing these unwanted children. Concealing the birth of a child was also a capital crime at one time, and five women were to hang for it. It did not need to be proven that the baby was murdered. They could be convicted even if the baby had actually been stillborn or had died of natural causes in the first hours of its life.
Female prisoners usually liked to look their best for their executions and, if they could afford it, would buy or make a new outfit for the occasion. Where they were poor, it was not unusual for their friends, the townsfolk, or even the sheriff to provide them with new clothes.
At least seven teenage girls were hanged. Hannah Ocuish, being just 12 years old, was probably the youngest person to be executed in America. Rebecca Nurse was the oldest at 71. She was hanged for witchcraft at Salem, Mass., on July 19, 1692.
Notable Cases of Female Hangings (1632–1846)
Below is a selection of the cases of some of these women. There is little detail of many of the earlier hangings, as there was no media at that time. Newspapers only began to be commonplace in the mid-1800s and even then were often only published weekly.
Jane Champion – 1632
The earliest recorded female hanging in America was that of Jane Champion in 1632 in Virginia for an unknown offense.
Margaret Hatch – June 24, 1633
Margaret Hatch was hanged in Virginia on June 24, 1633 for murder.
Dorothy Talby – December 6, 1638
Dorothy Talby was hanged in Salem, Massachusetts for the murder of her infant daughter, Difficulty. Dorothy was a strong-willed, rebellious woman who had a very troubled marriage. She had been whipped for attacking her husband prior to committing murder.
Mary Latham – March 21, 1643
18-year-old Mary Latham was hanged in Massachusetts alongside James Britton for adultery—the only woman to be executed for this offense in America.
Alice Martin Clarke Bishop – Fall of 1648
32-year-old Alice Martin Clarke Bishop was hanged at Plymouth, Massachusetts for stabbing to death her 4-year-old daughter, Martha—an event of which she said she had no recollection.
Mary Dyer – June 1, 1660
Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged from a tree in Boston, Massachusetts by the Puritans for returning from exile and for refusing to accept their religious beliefs. This despite having been reprieved the previous year. She seemed determined to be hanged. A statue of her is on Boston Common.
1692 – Salem Witch Trials
Thirteen women were hanged at Salem, Massachusetts after the notorious witchcraft trials. They were:
- Bridget Bishop on June 10
- Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Good, and Sarah Wildes on July 19
- Martha Carrier on August 19
- Martha Corey, Margaret Scott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, and Mary Parker on September 22
They were all hanged from a tree, having been taken to their execution in a cart, which also served as the means of suspending them.
June 8, 1693 – Elizabeth Emmerson
28-year-old Elizabeth Emmerson was hanged on Boston Common, Massachusetts for the murder of her two children who were conceived with her boyfriend. Strangely for the time, two years elapsed between sentence and execution.
July 17, 1701 – Esther Rodgers
21-year-old Esther Rodgers was hanged at Ipswich, Massachusetts for the murder of her illegitimate child.
September 27, 1733 – Rebecca Chamblett
27-year-old Rebecca Chamblett was hanged in Massachusetts for concealing the birth/death of her baby. It must be realized that she did not necessarily murder the baby—it could have been born dead—but concealing it was still a capital crime.
January 19, 1735 – Alice Riley
Alice Riley became the first woman to be hanged in Georgia (at Savannah), for the murder of her master, William Wise, in which she was assisted by her boyfriend, Richard White. She was pregnant at the time of her trial and was allowed to deliver the baby before her execution. The day after Alice’s execution, White was hanged on the same gallows.
July 31, 1735 – Patience Sampson
23-year-old Patience Sampson, a Native American, was hanged at York, Maine for the murder of 8-year-old Benjamin Trot, whom she hurled down a well where he drowned.
May 3, 1738 – Catherine Garrett
27-year-old Catherine Garrett, a Native American, was hanged in Connecticut for murder.
December 27, 1739 – Sarah Simpson & Penelope Kenney
Sarah Simpson, a widow, and Penelope Kenney, a servant girl, were found guilty of murdering a child and were hanged side by side from a tree at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The sheriff was Thomas Packer.
December 30, 1768 – Ruth Blay
School teacher Ruth Blay was executed at Portsmouth, New Hampshire for concealing the body of her stillborn child in the floor of her classroom. She was hanged from a tree, turned off the back of a cart. A last-minute Stay of Execution arrived minutes after her death. She was the last woman executed in New Hampshire.
July 2, 1778 – Bathsheba Spooner
32-year-old Bathsheba Spooner was hanged at Worcester, Massachusetts for the murder of her husband, Joshua. Found to be five months pregnant after execution. Her three male co-defendants were hanged with her.
January 3, 1786 – Elizabeth Wilson
27-year-old Elizabeth Wilson was hanged from the back of a cart at Chester, Pennsylvania for killing her two illegitimate children. A reprieve arrived 23 minutes too late.
December 20, 1786 – Hannah Ocuish
12-year-old Hannah Ocuish, a Native American, was hanged in Connecticut for the murder of 6-year-old Eunice Bolles. She was the youngest girl to be executed in America.
October 8, 1789 – Rachel Wall
Rachel Wall became the last of 39 women to be hanged in Massachusetts. She was executed for highway robbery. The execution was carried out on a portable gallows on Boston Common. Claims she was a pirate are likely a myth.
May 13, 1806 – Polly Barclay
Polly Barclay was hanged in Wilkes County, Georgia, as a co-conspirator in the murder of her husband.
June 10, 1809 – Susannah Cox
24-year-old Susannah Cox was hanged at Reading, Pennsylvania for the murder of her illegitimate child. She stood on her coffin in a cart; the horse was led forward and she died after a short struggle.
June 26, 1812 – Mary Cole
Mary Cole was hanged for the self-confessed murder of her mother in Sussex County, New Jersey.
September 30, 1814 – Mary Antoine
20-year-old Mary Antoine, a Native American, was hanged in New York for murder.
October 17, 1817 – Margaret Houghtaling
Margaret Houghtaling was hanged in Hudson, New York, for killing her baby. Later a neighbor confessed to the crime.
February 18, 1820 – Lavinia Fisher
27-year-old Lavinia Fisher was hanged in South Carolina for murder, alongside her husband. She wore a white wedding dress for the execution.
July 12, 1833 – Frankie Stewart Silver
Frankie Stewart Silver was hanged in Morganton, North Carolina, for the axe murder of her husband. She was 18. As she tried to speak on the scaffold, her father shouted, “Die with it in you, Frankie!”
September 30, 1838 – Mary
19-year-old African American named Mary was hanged in Missouri for murder.
February 9, 1844 – Ester Foster
Ester Foster (African American) was hanged for murdering a fellow inmate at Franklin, Ohio. She shared the gallows with William Graham. She sold her body to a surgeon for candy.
April 26, 1844 – Rosanne Keen
16-year-old Rosanne Keen, an African American domestic servant, was hanged in New Jersey for murder.
May 23, 1845 – Elizabeth Reed
40-year-old Elizabeth Reed (white) was publicly hanged at Lawrenceville, Illinois for poisoning her husband. She was the first woman hanged in Illinois.
January 24, 1846 – Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh
47-year-old Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh was hanged at Johnstown, New York, for poisoning two husbands.
November 9, 1847 – Mary Runkle
Mary Runkle (white) was hanged in Oneida County, New York for strangling her husband. Suspected of drowning two children. She was dropped through a hole cut in the jail floor.
September 22, 1848 – Celia
A slave known only as Celia was hanged in Florida for killing her master, Jacob Bryan, with a hoe. Suggested she may have been his daughter. No woman was executed in Florida again until 1998.
December 11, 1849 – Phoebe (Shepherd)
25-year-old Phoebe, an African American, was hanged in Alabama for murder.
January 30, 1852 – Pamela Lee Worms
Pamela Lee Worms was hanged in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for poisoning her husband.
July 30, 1852 – Ann Hoag
31-year-old Ann Hoag (white) was hanged in Poughkeepsie, New York, for poisoning her husband. She was hanged alongside Jonas Williams.
September 10, 1852 – Jane Williams
Jane Williams, a black slave, was hanged in Richmond, Virginia, for slaying her master’s wife and child. She pleaded guilty and was hanged before a crowd of 6,000. Her husband was hanged a month later.
February 26, 1858 – Jenny (Hall)
30-year-old Jenny, an African American, was hanged in Virginia for murder.
February 12, 1858 – Charlotte Jones
35-year-old Charlotte Jones (white) was hanged in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, alongside Henry Fife, for murdering her uncle and aunt. On the gallows, she kissed Henry before collapsing and had to be supported during execution.
March 5, 1858 – Lucy (Dougherty)
40-year-old Lucy (Dougherty), an African American slave, was hanged in Texas for murder.
March 23, 1860 – Ann Bilansky
Ann Bilansky (white, aged 34) went to the gallows at St. Paul, Minnesota for the arsenic poisoning of her husband, Stanislaus – the only female executed in this state.
The hanging was carried out in nominal privacy, although people got onto every vantage point to see the proceedings. They didn’t see a great deal, as Ann died with “hardly a struggle,” according to contemporary reports.
April 26, 1861 – Paula Angel
Paula Angel, a 19-year-old Hispanic girl, was hanged by Sheriff Herrera in San Miguel County, New Mexico, for the murder of her married boyfriend, Miguel Martin, whom she had stabbed to death when he refused to leave his wife for her.
She was taken from the jail in a wagon to a suitable tree from which she was to hang. When they arrived at the place of execution, Paula put up such a fight with the sheriff as she stood on the back of the wagon that he had to start over and get her properly tied up before he could draw the wagon from under her.
November 13, 1863 – Chipita Rodriguez
Chipita Rodriguez was hanged from a tree in Texas for the ax murder of horse trader John Savage. She was taken to her execution on that Friday afternoon sitting side-saddle on a horse and wearing a new blue dress made for her by the town’s women.
She denied her guilt to the last and, after she had said her final words, “No soy culpable” (I am not guilty), the horse was led away from under her.
March 10, 1865 – Amy Spain
17-year-old Amy Spain, an African American, was hanged from a tree in the town of Darlington, South Carolina, for treason and conduct unbecoming a slave.
When she heard that the Union army was close at hand and would occupy the town, she expressed her satisfaction by clasping her hands and exclaiming, “Bless the Lord the Yankees have come!” For her, it should have meant the end of slavery, but the townsfolk saw it differently.
July 7, 1865 – Mary Surratt
45-year-old Mary Surratt was hanged by the military at the Washington Arsenal Penitentiary in Washington, D.C., for the role she may have played in the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
This was the first female execution under Federal jurisdiction and, unusually for the time, was well photographed. Her three co-conspirators were executed alongside her. All were given a drop of about 5 feet, which proved insufficient to break their necks.
January 19, 1866 – Martha Grinder
50-year-old Martha Grinder, “The Pittsburgh Poisoner,” was hanged in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the poisoning by arsenic of Mary Caruthers and Jane Buchanan, crimes to which she confessed.
She told the astonished jury at her trial, “I loved to see death in all its forms and phases and left no opportunity to gratify my tastes for such sights. Could I have had my own way, probably I should have done more.”
She went bravely to the gallows set up in the Pittsburgh prison yard and seemed quite serene in the face of death. Martha wore a brown dress trimmed with white lace and was unusually masked with a white hood on the gallows.
The trap opened at 1:15 p.m., and she struggled hard for several minutes after suspension, allegedly due to the noose being allowed to become damp and not sliding smoothly. It is suspected that the two women were not her only victims.
August 30, 1867 – Bridget Durgan
Bridget Durgan, a 22-year-old servant girl of Irish descent, was hanged in the jail yard at New Brunswick, New Jersey, before a crowd of noisy and boisterous onlookers estimated at 2,000 people, for the murder of her mistress, Mrs. Mary Ellen Coriell, whom she had stabbed to death.
She wore a brown suit, white collar, and white gloves, and walked steadily to the gallows. A crowd of some 2,000 people watched as Bridget was jerked into the air by the mechanism (instead of being dropped through a trap). She died very hard, struggling and convulsing for some minutes in the agonies of strangulation.
November 13, 1867 – Lena Miller
40-year-old Lena Miller, of German origin, was hanged in the jail yard of Brookville Prison, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for poisoning her husband, Xavier.
She confessed to the crime and was executed in front of several hundred witnesses.
February 7, 1868 – Susan
Youth was no bar to execution in the 19th century! On this day, a 13-year-old African American girl named Susan was hanged in Henry County, Kentucky, for murder. She was a babysitter and was accused of killing one of her charges.
According to a local newspaper, she “writhed and twisted and jerked many times.” It was reported that many “solid citizens” asked for a piece of her hanging rope for a souvenir after they cut her down.
February 10, 1871 – Mary Wallis
17-year-old Mary Wallis, an African American, was hanged in Maryland for the murder by strychnine poisoning of her employer’s child.
May 2, 1873 – Susan Eberhart
Susan Eberhart (white, aged 19) was hanged in Preston, Stewart County, Georgia, for helping her employer, Enoch Spann, to kill his wife, who had been strangled to death.
They were arrested six days after the killing and tried and sentenced less than a month after the murder. Susan went to the gallows in a new dress and bonnet supplied by the sheriff and with her hair “neatly braided.” She told the crowd of about 700 witnesses that she did not mind dying as she would be better off.
Like her victim, Susan also strangled when her turn came to die. Enoch Spann had been hanged on the same gallows on April 11, some three weeks earlier.
November 26, 1875 – Alcee Harris
24-year-old Alcee Harris, an African American, was hanged at Ouachita, Louisiana, for murder.
Afraid that her husband, Henry, was going to kill her after they had been quarreling, she persuaded a friend, Toney Nellum, to kill him with an ax. Both confessed to their parts in the crime and were executed side by side on a gallows set up outside the courthouse, in front of a crowd estimated at 5,000. Alcee wore a white dress for the hanging.
Both prisoners were given quite a short drop and, while Alcee died fairly quickly, Toney struggled for some time after the trap fell at 10:26 a.m. on that Friday morning.
January 6, 1881 – Margaret Meierhoffer
40-year-old Margaret Meierhoffer (white) was hanged in the Essex County prison in New Jersey for the murder—by shooting—of her husband John. Her accomplice, Frank Lammens, was executed an hour later on the same gallows. Both were jerked into the air by a falling weight and, in neither case, was the neck broken.
Margaret was taken to the gallows with the rope around her neck and the black hood on top of her head. It was pulled down at the last moment.
February 3, 1881 – Catherine Miller
29-year-old Catherine Miller (white) was hanged at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, alongside George Smith for murdering Catherine’s husband, Andrew. Smith had tried to make the killing look like suicide.
They were executed in semi-private before invited witnesses, including reporters, and both died easily.
April 22, 1881 – Lucinda Fowlkes
A crowd of about 100 gathered outside the County Jail in Lunenburg County, Virginia, for the semi-private hanging of Lucinda Fowlkes (Black, age unknown). She was executed for murdering her husband with an ax. Lucinda alleged that her husband had abused her. The execution was reportedly carried out quietly.
June 23, 1882 – Lucinda Tisdale
Lucinda Tisdale (Black, age unknown) was one of four people hanged this day at Kingstree, South Carolina. She was executed beside Anderson Singleton for the murder of his wife, who was also Lucinda’s sister. Later that day, two other men were hanged on the same gallows for arson and robbery.
September 14, 1883 – Barbara Miller
Barbara Miller, a young Black woman aged about 29, was hanged in the jail yard in Richmond, Virginia, for her part in the murder of her husband. Her co-defendant had been executed the previous August. She was given a 7-foot drop, which proved inadequate, and she struggled for several minutes before dying.
Barbara requested a white muslin dress and a flowered headdress for her execution, both of which were provided. She expressed regret at not being executed alongside her co-accused, Charles Lee, and told reporters she did not want a pardon even if the governor offered one.
October 19, 1883 – Margaret Harris
Eighteen-year-old Margaret Harris (Black) was hanged at Calhoun, Georgia, for poisoning a young girl named Lela Lewis. Approximately 3,500 people, including many women, came to witness the execution. Margaret died without struggle.
March 30, 1883 – Emeline Lucy Meaker
Emeline Lucy Meaker (white, age 44) was hanged at Windsor, Vermont, for poisoning the nine-year-old niece of her husband, Alice Meaker, to inherit $400. She was the first of only two women to be executed in Vermont (the other being Mary Rogers in 1905).
Emeline chose a black dress with white trim for her execution and requested to see the gallows beforehand, which was permitted. She was hanged in the prison yard at 1:30 p.m. before an invited audience and was certified dead 14 minutes later.
February 28, 1887 – Roxalana Druse
Forty-year-old Roxalana Druse was hanged in New York for the murder of her husband, John Druse (aged 72). Roxalana and her mentally disabled daughter, Mary, beat John to death, dismembered his body, and boiled the remains. They lived in a frontier cabin in Little Falls, New York. The crime came to light after Roxalana’s 12-year-old son reported his father missing.
The alleged motive was that John worked Roxalana too hard. Her daughter received a prison sentence. At the execution, Roxalana was jerked upwards by a weighted rope rather than dropped through a trapdoor, which failed to break her neck. She strangled to death slowly, a scene so disturbing it influenced New York to adopt the electric chair in 1890. She was the last woman hanged in New York State.
January 21, 1888 – Pauline McCoy
Nineteen-year-old Pauline McCoy, an African American, was hanged at Union Springs, Montgomery, Alabama, for the murder of Annie Jordan, a teenage white girl. The apparent motive was to steal Annie’s shoes. Pauline was in a state of near collapse on the gallows and had to be supported by two sheriff’s deputies.
June 25, 1889 – Sarah Jane Whiteling
Sarah Jane Whiteling, a 51-year-old white woman, was executed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the arsenic poisoning murders of her husband, son, and daughter. She mounted a defense of insanity caused by menopause, but the jury rejected it.
The execution was carried out in the county prison corridor before about 30 witnesses. The trapdoor fell at 10:07 a.m., less than a minute after Sarah stepped onto it.
June 20, 1890 – Elizabeth and Josiah Potts
Mrs. Elizabeth Potts and her husband Josiah (middle-aged white couple) were hanged in Elko, Nevada, for killing Miles Faucett, apparently for financial gain. After appeals were denied, a gallows was brought from California and assembled in the prison yard.
Elizabeth wore a new white dress with black silk bows made for the execution. Their wrists were bound on the trap, shoes removed, and legs strapped. They leaned forward and kissed before black hoods were placed over their heads and nooses tightened. The trap was sprung at 10:44 a.m.
The drop nearly decapitated Elizabeth, who had gained weight in prison. Blood oozed from beneath the hood and ran down her dress. Fifty-two men witnessed the gruesome event; women were denied passes. Elizabeth was the only woman ever executed in Nevada.
September 29, 1891 – Henrietta Murrell
Henrietta Murrell (colored) was hanged at Smithville, Charlotte County, Virginia, for the self-confessed murder of her 8-year-old child. Details of the execution remain sparse.
January 22, 1892 – Caroline Shipp
Caroline Shipp (Black, age 18) was publicly hanged in Gaston County, North Carolina, for poisoning her son. She was taken to the gallows in a horse-drawn cart, seated on her coffin. Once on the trap, she sang a hymn and prayed with her minister. Given a handkerchief to hold and drop when ready, she turned her head at the last moment, causing the knot to move to the front.
As a result, her neck was not broken, and she struggled until the deputy sheriff added his weight to strangle her. Caroline was left hanging all day, and spectators reportedly brought picnic lunches. It was said Caroline was pregnant at the time, which would have spared her from execution if disclosed.
Also on this day, Margaret Lashley and her boyfriend James Lyles (both Black) were hanged semi-privately at Danville, Virginia, for the murder of Margaret’s husband. Margaret was convicted as an accessory.
October 7, 1892 – Milbry Brown and John Williams
Fifteen-year-old Milbry Brown, an African American, was hanged at Spartanburg, South Carolina, for killing a one-year-old white child. She shared the gallows with John Williams, convicted of murdering J. Henneman, the mayor. Both were executed at 11 a.m. before approximately 20 witnesses. A 6-foot drop was given, adequate to break their necks.
On the same day, unmarried mother Anna Tribble (Black) was privately hanged at Newberry, South Carolina, for the murder of her baby in February of that year. She had deserted the baby in a field.
November 22, 1895 – Amanda Cody and Florence English
Amanda Cody (Black) and 20-year-old Florence English (Black male) were hanged privately at Warrenton, Georgia. The two were having an affair and were executed for the murder of Amanda’s husband, Cicero. They sang a hymn together until the drop fell.
July 10, 1896 – Mary Snodgrass
Twenty-eight-year-old Mary Snodgrass (white) was hanged at Coeburn, Virginia, for murdering her baby by burning it in the fireplace. She was the last woman hanged in the 19th century. (Martha Place was the last woman executed in America in the 19th century by electric chair in 1899.)
July 17, 1903 – Dora Wright
Thirty-eight-year-old Dora Wright (Black) was the first woman hanged in the 20th century. She was executed at South McAllister, Oklahoma, for the murder of 7-year-old Annie Williams. She was hanged alongside Charles Barrett, who was executed for a separate murder.
Dora had beaten Annie over several months before finally whipping her to death on February 2, 1903. Both were given a 7-foot drop just before 7 a.m. and died without struggle.
December 8, 1905 – Mary Rogers
Mary Rogers, a 21-year-old white housewife, was calmly hanged for the chloroform murder of her husband Marcus on August 13, 1902. The execution took place just after 1 p.m. at Windsor, Vermont, on a gallows erected in a closed prison courtyard.
Mary was the second and last woman hanged in Vermont.
January 13, 1922 – Pattie Perdue
Seventeen years later, Pattie Perdue (Black) was hanged at Forest, Mississippi. Her co-accused, Leon Viverett, was executed the same day. They were convicted of the robbery murder of Alton Page, a white man whose body they mutilated and attempted to burn.
October 13, 1922 – Ann Knight
Ann Knight (Black) was hanged at Leaksville, Mississippi, alongside her co-defendant Will Green for the murder of her husband. This was one of four executions carried out on the same day.
February 1, 1929 – Ada Bonner LeBouef
Ada Bonner LeBouef (white, age 38) was hanged at noon in the jail yard of the parish prison at Franklin, Louisiana, for the murder of her husband, James. Her co-accused, Dr. Thomas Dreher, was executed on the same gallows shortly after her. They had hired a local trapper to shoot James. The case received significant publicity.
February 21, 1930 – Eva Dugan
Eva Dugan (white, age 49) was hanged at Florence, Arizona, for the robbery murder of her former employer, Tucson rancher Andrew J. Mathis. She was the only woman executed in Arizona.
The hanging was botched: Eva had a wasting disease of the neck muscles, and the drop decapitated her in front of 70 witnesses, including seven women. Arizona then adopted the gas chamber for future executions.
February 8, 1935 – Julia Moore
Julia Moore was hanged in Louisiana for the murder of Elliot Wilson. Minimal publicity surrounded the case, and few details remain.
June 7, 1935 – May Carey
May Carey (white, age 55) was hanged at the Sussex County jail yard in Delaware at 5:07 a.m. for murdering her brother, Robert R. Hutchins, to collect his life insurance. Her sons, Howard (27) and James (23), were also convicted. Howard was executed on the same gallows at 5:41 a.m., while James received a life sentence. A third son, Lawrence, was imprisoned for burglary. May was the only white woman ever hanged in Delaware.
April 29, 1937 – Mary Holmes
Mary Holmes (Black, age 35) became the last woman to suffer judicial hanging in the USA. She was hanged at 12:48 p.m. at Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Her co-defendant, 32-year-old Selmon Brooks, was hanged on the same gallows at 1:32 p.m.
Both had been jointly convicted of the robbery murder of Mary’s employer, Mr. E.W. Cook, which occurred on May 29, 1936.
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