July 30, 1923Waco, TexasConfessed serial killer Roy Mitchell is executed Multiple murders were committed in or near Waco, Texas over the course of a year, beginning in February of 1922 and ending in January of 1923. On February 11, 1922, 13-year-old Homer Turk was visiting W. H. Barker, his wife (either Lulu, Lou, or Lula),…
Pair hanged for adultery, the only two known to be executed in the US for this crime
March 21, 1644Boston, Massachusetts Bay ColonyMary Latham and John Britton are executed for adultery As the executions and the events which led to them happened nearly 400 years ago, very little historical evidence remains. The entirety of what is known today is held within the diaries of John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay…
Man executed for former sister-in-law’s murder
March 15, 1946Eddyville, KentuckyAnderson Adkins (34, pictured center) is executed for a murder committed during a custody dispute Anderson and his wife, Elmo Bentley Adkins, had recently divorced, and Anderson had blamed the influence of his in-laws for the dissolution of his marriage. Elmo had been granted custody of the couple’s 11-year-old son and Adkins…
Two men executed for the clubbing, shooting murders of elderly couple
February 21, 1936Richmond, VirginiaJoe Jackson (24) and John Shell (30) are executed for the murders of John Thomas Coleman (77) and Jennie C. Coleman (65) The Colemans lived on a farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. On the morning of April 3, 1935, one of the Colemans’ hired hands came in to work but could not find…
Man executed for murders of wife, two young children
February 16, 1906Chicago, IllinoisJohn Mueller is executed for the murders of his wife and two young daughters Around 2:30 a.m. on January 11, 1905, neighbors of the Mueller family heard shots and a muffled scream which seemed to end abruptly. One of the neighbors ran to the street where he encountered two detectives whom he…
