Who was the last person to recieve the death penalty for which their crime was *NOT* murder?

Question

This is a question my Criminal Justice professor asked us and I cannot find an answer! Please help...

My professor said it was *not* the Rosenburgs...

Answer 1

The last time someone was executed solely for other crimes were:

Rape - Ronald Wolfe on May 8, 1964 in Missouri.

Criminal assault - Rudolph Wright on January 11, 1962 in California
Kidnapping - Billy Monk on November 21, 1960 in California
Robbery/rape/kidnapping - Caryl Chessman on May 2, 1960 in California
Espionage - Ethel and Julius Rosenberg on June 19, 1953 in New York (Federal execution)
Burglary - Frank Bass on August 8, 1941 in Alabama
Arson - George Hughes, George Smith, Asbury Hughes on August 1, 1884 in Alabama
"Guerrilla Activity" - Champ Ferguson on October 21, 1865 in Tennessee
Piracy - Nathaniel Gordon on February 21, 1862 in New York (Federal execution)
Treason - John Conn in 1862 in Texas
Slave revolt - Slaves named Caesar, Sam and Sanford on 19 October 1860 in Alabama
Aiding a runaway slave - Starling Carlton in 1859 in South Carolina
Theft - Slave named Jake on December 3, 1855 in Alabama
Horse stealing - James Wilson and Fred Salkman on 28 November 1851 in California
Forgery - 6 March 1840 in South Carolina
Counterfeiting - Thomas Davis on 11 October 1822 in Alabama
Sodomy/buggery/bestiality - Joseph Ross December 20, 1785 in Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania for buggery
Concealing the birth/death of an infant - Hannah Piggen in 1785 in Middlesex, Massachusetts
Witchcraft - African American person named Manuel on June 15, 1779 in (present-day) Illinois
It should be noted that several people who were executed have received pardons for their crimes. For example, slave revolt was a capital crime, and many who were executed for that reason have since been pardoned.

Answer 2

The Rosenburg's! The rest we will never know as they are planted!!

The history of the United States is full of unsolved mysteries. One of the greatest
mysteries which occurred in 1953 was the electrocution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg under the Espionage Act. They were convicted for giving the secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. The anti-communist sentiment that characterized the Cold War and McCarthyism led to their trial and execution. Even though there is some evidence of the Rosenbergs' guilt, numerous facts which were discovered after the death of Ethel and Julius argue more convincingly that they were innocent victims of Cold War hysteria.

I cant answer, but this may help!

Of this number--by far the highest in the world--93 percent were convicted of murder, 26 percent of those for felony murder, i.e., as accessories to crimes involving murder. In other words, they didn't kill anyone, they were there and probably in a commision of a crime!

Look at these. They were innocent!

The most important concern is that an innocent person could be executed. Although death penalty opponents often exaggerate the numbers, no informed person can dispute that innocent people have been sent to Death Row. Several books have been written about specific examples of such cases. One good example is Adams v. Texas, which was the basis of the documentary film “The Thin Blue Line.” Other good books covering innocents on Death Row include Circumstantial Evidence: Death, Life, And Justice In A Southern Town by Pete Earley, and Victims of Justice, by Thomas Frisbie and Randy Garrett — just to name a few.

Answer 3

I am not so sure that it is the Rosenburgs. Kidnapping used to be, and might still be in some states, punishable with the death penalty. Also, some attacks on children can be punished by death in some states.

Don't go with the most famous. He may want the answer that you don't know because some states still use it today for other crimes and you don't know who has been sentenced today in those states.

So you may want to research where the death penalty is used and for crimes it can be used for and the last time it was used for that crime. This may not be an easy answer my friend.

Good Luck.

Answer 4

the Rosenburgs in the early 1950s. It may be spelled Rosenbergs as well. They where executed for espionage against the US. Probably where not guilty though.

Answer 5

this is all i could find COURTTV.COM - TOP NEWS - Man convicted of raping stepdaughter gets death sentence
... in what could be the state's first death sentence for a crime other than murder. ... to sentence someone to death who had not committed a murder. ...www.courttv.com/news/2003/0827/deathpenalty_ap.html - 15k - Cached - More from this site - Save

Answer 6

Scott Peterson. Not for the actual deaths but for what he did afterwards.

Answer 7

Criminal Records Search Database : http://SearchVerifyInfos.com/Help

Answer 8

I forgot his names ,but he was a notorious rapists.