List of people executed in Pennsylvania

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

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.[1]

A total of 1,043 people have been executed in Pennsylvania since 1693,[2][3] the third highest of any other state or commonwealth in the Union, after New York (1,130) and Virginia (1,361).[4]

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.[5]

The last person to be publicly executed in Pennsylvania was Charles Getter, who was hanged on Getter's Island on January 11, 1833.[6]

## After 1976

[edit]

No. | Name  | Race  | Age  | Sex  | Date of execution  | County  | Method  | Victim(s)  | Governor

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Keith William Zettlemoyer | White  | 39  | M  | May 2, 1995  | Dauphin | Lethal injection | Charles DeVetsco  | Tom Ridge
2  | Leon Jerome Moser | White  | 52  | M  | August 16, 1995  | Montgomery | Linda Moser, Donna Moser, and Joanne Moser
3  | Gary Michael Heidnik | White  | 55  | M  | July 6, 1999  | Philadelphia | Deborah Dudley and Sandra Lindsay

## Demographics

[edit]

Race

White  | 3  | 100%
Age
30–39  | 1  | 33%
40–49  | 0  | 0%
50–59  | 2  | 66%
Sex
Male  | 3  | 100%
Date of execution
1976–1979  | 0  | 0%
1980–1989  | 0  | 0%
1990–1999  | 3  | 100%
2000–2009  | 0  | 0%
2010–2019  | 0  | 0%
2020–2029  | 0  | 0%
Method
Lethal injection | 3  | 100%
Governor (Party)
Milton Shapp (D) | 0  | 0%
Dick Thornburgh (R) | 0  | 0%
Bob Casey Sr. (D) | 0  | 0%
Tom Ridge (R) | 3  | 100%
Mark Schweiker (R) | 0  | 0%
Ed Rendell (D) | 0  | 0%
Tom Corbett (R) | 0  | 0%
Tom Wolf (D) | 0  | 0%
Josh Shapiro (D) | 0  | 0%
Total  | 3  | 100%

## See also

[edit]

* Capital punishment in Pennsylvania
* Capital punishment in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
2. ^ "Executions in Pennsylvania - 1693-1800". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
3. ^ "Executions in Pennsylvania - 1921-1962". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
4. ^ "US Executions from 1608-2002". DeathPenaltyUSA.org.
5. ^ "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.
6. ^ See a bird's-eye view of Getter's Island, now for sale in Easton

* v
* t
* e

Capital punishment in the United States

Jurisdictions|

* Federal government
* Military
* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming
* American Samoa
* Guam
* Puerto Rico
* Washington, D.C.

People executed by state|

* Federal government
* Military
* Alabama (pre-1972)
* Arizona
* Arkansas (pre-1972)
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida (pre-1972)
* Georgia (pre-1972)
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky (pre-1972)
* Louisiana (pre-1972)
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma (pre-1972)
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* 2020–present
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wyoming
* Washington, D.C.

People executed by year|

* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965–1972
* 1976–1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025
* Scheduled executions

Issues and ethics|

* Botched executions
* Death-qualified jury
* Debate
* Dual sovereignty doctrine
* Execution drug shortage
* Exonerations
* Juveniles
* Last meal
* Participation of medical professionals
* Race and capital punishment
* White defendants executed for killing a black victim
* Wrongful executions

Other|

* Death row inmates
* Death row inmates who have exhausted their appeals
* Death Penalty Information Center
* Most recent executions by state
* National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
* Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment
* Women executed since 1976
* Women on death row

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template