The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
A total of 1,043 people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1693, [1] [2] the third highest of any other state or commonwealth in the Union, after New York (1,130) and Virginia (1,361). [3]
Until 1915, hanging was the common method of execution. 1915 saw the first use of the electric chair, even though it was approved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1913. The delay was due to the time needed to finish the Western Penitentiary in Centre County, now the State Correctional Institution – Rockview. On November 29, 1990, Governor Casey changed the form of execution to lethal injection. [4]
The last person to be publicly executed in Pennsylvania was Charles Getter, who was hanged on Getter's Island on January 11, 1833. [5]
After 1976
Since the reinstatement of the death penalty by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976, 3 men, all convicted of murder, have been executed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All were executed by lethal injection, and in all cases, they waived their appeals and asked that the execution be carried out. [6]
| No. | Name | Race | Age | Sex | Date of execution | Method | Victim(s) | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith William Zettlemoyer | White | 39 | M | May 2, 1995 | Lethal injection | Charles DeVetsco | Tom Ridge |
| 2 | Leon Jerome Moser | White | 52 | M | August 16, 1995 | Linda Moser, Donna Moser, and Joanne Moser | ||
| 3 | Gary Michael Heidnik | White | 55 | M | July 6, 1999 | Deborah Dudley and Sandra Lindsay |
See also
References
- ^ "Executions in Pennsylvania - 1693-1800". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
- ^ "Executions in Pennsylvania - 1921-1962". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
- ^ "US Executions from 1608-2002". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Department of Corrections - History of the Death Penalty". www.cor.state.pa.us. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ See a bird's-eye view of Getter's Island, now for sale in Easton
- ^ "Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved December 27, 2019.