November 16, 1922 Eddyville, Kentucky Dave Brown is executed for the murder of his lover’s husband and his daughter Brown had boarded with James Brumfield and his family in West Virginia. Eventually, Brown and Mrs. Brumfield ran away together to Kentucky. Mrs. Brumfield took her two children with her, and the couple presented themselves as… Continue reading Man executed for killing lover’s husband and child
Category: Kentucky
Man fatally shoots teacher for disciplining brother (1853)
November 2, 1853 Louisville, Kentucky Matthew Flournoy Ward fatally shoots a teacher for punishing his younger brother The day prior to the shooting, Matt Ward’s youngest brother, William, had been reprimanded by his teacher. Professor William H. G. Butler had caught William Ward and another high school student named Al Fisher eating chestnuts and causing… Continue reading Man fatally shoots teacher for disciplining brother (1853)
The last public execution in the United States
August 14, 1936 Owensboro, Kentucky Rainey Bethea becomes the last person publicly executed in the United States Bethea was convicted of the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischia Edwards, who was choked during the violent sexual assault. He left behind damning evidence including a distinctive ring as well as fingerprints, linking him solidly to the… Continue reading The last public execution in the United States
Premature infant abandoned on porch
July 8, 1954 Henderson, Kentucky A premature infant is abandoned on a porch The newborn weighted only 2.5 lbs when she was found crying "like a kitten's whining" on a woman's porch. Doctors placed her in an incubator and police promised not to hold the mother accountable should she come forward within 24 hours to… Continue reading Premature infant abandoned on porch
Man executed by hanging before he can bleed to death by self-inflicted stab wound
July 7, 1826 Frankfort, Kentucky Jereboam Beauchamp is executed for murdering a man who denied the parentage of his illegitimate child In 1821, Beauchamp had become smitten with a woman named Anna Cooke who 16 years his senior. At the age of 18, Beauchamp made his intentions known that he wished to marry Cooke. She… Continue reading Man executed by hanging before he can bleed to death by self-inflicted stab wound
