List of people executed in Maine

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Maine, or within present-day Maine prior to statehood.[1] Capital punishment was sparsely used in Maine. It was abolished in 1876, reinstated in 1883, then abolished again in 1887.[2] The only method of execution used in Maine was hanging, with the exception of three men executed by firing squad under martial law.

  Slave execution
  Executions by firing squad

Name Race Age Sex Date of execution County Crime Victim(s) Governor
Katherine Cornish White F 1644 York Murder Richard Cornish, white (husband)[3][4] John Winthrop or John Endecott
Joseph Quasson Native American M June 29, 1726 York Murder Jonathan Boler, Native American[5][6] William Dummer
Patience Sampson Mixed[a] 23 F July 31, 1735 York Murder Benjamin Trott, 8, white[7] Jonathan Belcher
George Necho Native American M August 7, 1740 York Rape Susanna Kimball, 3, white[8]
Edmund Brown White M September 4, 1740 York Murder David Bryant, white[9]
John Seymour White M August 11, 1755 York Murder Female, infant, white (daughter)[10] William Shirley
Tony Black M July 29, 1756 York Murder Female, child, white[11]
Solomon Goodwin White M November 12, 1772 Cumberland Murder David Wilson, white[12] Thomas Hutchinson
James McCormic White M 1773 Cumberland Murder [13]
Jeremiah Baum White M 1780 Knox (Military) Treason N/A[12][b] N/A
John O'Neil White M September 11, 1788 Lincoln Murder Michael Cleary, elderly, white[14] John Hancock
Thomas Bird White 40 M June 25, 1790 Cumberland (Federal)[c] Murder Capt. John Connor, white[15]
Samuel Hadlock White M October 28, 1790 Lincoln Murder Mr. Gott, white[16]
Edmund Fortis Black M September 25, 1794 Lincoln Murder-Rape Pamela Tilton, 14, white[17] Samuel Adams
Joseph Drew White 24 M July 21, 1808 Cumberland Murder Ebenezer Parker, 47, white (deputy sheriff)[18] James Sullivan
Ebenezer Ball White M October 31, 1811 Hancock Murder John Tileston Downes, white (sheriff's deputy)[19] Elbridge Gerry
Two unknowns White M December 1814 Hancock (Military) Desertion N/A[20] Caleb Strong
Seth Elliott White M February 3, 1825 Knox Murder John Wilson Elliott, 3, white (son)[21] Albion Parris
Joseph Sager White M January 2, 1835[d] Kennebec Murder Female, white (wife)[22] Samuel E. Smith
Abram Cox Black M August 27, 1860 Androscoggin (Federal) Murder Four people, white[23][e] Lot M. Morrill
Peter Williams White M
William H. Laird White M July 15, 1863 Cumberland (Military) Desertion N/A[24] Abner Coburn
Francis Spencer White M June 24, 1864[f] Knox Murder Richard Tinker, 67, white (warden)[25] Samuel Cony
Clifton Harris Black 20 M March 12, 1869 Androscoggin Murder-Rape-Burglary Mrs. Justin Kingsley and Polly Caswell, white[26] Joshua Chamberlain
Louis Wagner White 31 M June 25, 1875 York Murder-Rape-Burglary Anetha and Karen Christiansen, 25 and 39, white[27][28] Nelson Dingley Jr.
John Gordon White M Waldo Murder Three people, white[29][g]
Raffaele Capone White 27 M April 17, 1885 Penobscot Murder-Robbery Pasquale Coscia, white[30] Frederick Robie
Carmine Santore White 44 M
Daniel Wilkinson White 38 M November 20, 1885 Sagadahoc Murder William Lawrence, 63, white (police officer)[31]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Half-breed Indian".
  2. ↑ Accused of "conducting a marauding British party". Baum was of "feeble intellect" and many supporters of the revolution sought a pardon for "manifestly inoffensive" Baum, regretting the execution.
  3. ↑ First federal execution in the United States.
  4. ↑ Last public execution in Maine.
  5. ↑ Capt. Daniel Humphrey, two mates, and a seaman.
  6. ↑ First execution at Maine State Prison.
  7. ↑ His 24-year-old brother Almon, Almon's wife Emma, and their two-year-old daughter.

References

  1. ↑ "Executions in Maine - 1644-1885 - DeathPenaltyUSA, the database of executions in the United States". deathpenaltyusa.org. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ Thompson, Bruce E. R. (June 25, 2009). Capital Punishment. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. ISBN 978-0-7377-4633-4.
  3. ↑ Jones, Ann (October 1, 2009). Women Who Kill. The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 978-1-55861-652-3.
  4. ↑ Mofford, Juliet Haines (December 20, 2011). Devil Made Me Do It!: Crime and Punishment in Early New England. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7627-7596-5.
  5. ↑ Hearn, Daniel Allen (August 13, 2015). Legal Executions in New England: A Comprehensive Reference, 1623-1960. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0853-2.
  6. ↑ Joseph Quasson, ME, 1726 June 29
  7. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Patience Sampson". Espy Archive. July 31, 1735.
  8. ↑ George Necho, ME, 1840 August 4
  9. ↑ Edmund Brown, ME, 1740 September 4
  10. ↑ John Seymour, ME, 1755 August 11
  11. ↑ Tony, ME, 1756 July 29
  12. 1 2 Society, Maine Historical (1890). Collections of the Maine Historical Society. The Society.
  13. ↑ James McCormic, ME, 1773
  14. ↑ John O'Neil, ME, 1788 September 11
  15. ↑ Genesio, Jerry (2006). "The Trial and Execution of Thomas Bird in Portland, Maine, 1790: The First Execution under the United States Constitution". Maine History. 42 (4): 199–214. ISSN 1090-5413.
  16. ↑ Samuel Hadlock, ME, 1790 October 28
  17. ↑ "Edmund Fortis, d. 1794 The Last Words and Dying Speech of Edmund Fortis, a Negro Man, Who Appeared to Be between Thirty and Forty Years of Age, but Very Ignorant. He Was Executed at Dresden, on Kennebeck River, on Thursday the Twenty-Fifth Day of September, 1794, for a Rape and Murder, Committed on the Body of Pamela Tilton, a Young Girl of about Fourteen Years of Age, Daughter of Mr. Tilton of Vassalborough, in the County of Lincoln". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Joseph Drew". Espy Archive. July 21, 1808.
  19. ↑ [Lines] made on Ebenezer Ball, who was executed at Castine, October 31st, 1811, for the murder of Mr. John Tileston Downes. [Two poems. One written the day before his execution, and the other written the day he was executed.]. 1811.
  20. ↑ Two British Soldiers, ME, 1814 December
  21. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Seth Elliott". Espy Archive. February 3, 1825.
  22. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Joseph Sager". Espy Archive. January 2, 1835.
  23. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Abram Cox, Peter Williams". Espy Archive. August 27, 1860.
  24. ↑ William H. Laird, ME, 1863 July 15
  25. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Francis Spencer". Espy Archive. June 24, 1864.
  26. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Clifton Harris". Espy Archive. March 12, 1869.
  27. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Louis Wagner". Espy Archive. June 25, 1875.
  28. ↑ "Execution Of Wagner And Gordon". Daily Kennebec Journal. June 26, 1875. p. 3. Retrieved June 8, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ↑ "Summary of the execution of John Gordon". Espy Archive. June 25, 1875.
  30. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Raffaele Capone, Carmine Santore". Espy Archive. April 17, 1885.
  31. ↑ "Summary of the execution of Daniel Wilkinson". Espy Archive. November 20, 1885.
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