Executions in the Gas Chamber

Age: 33

Crime: Convicted of killing Dr. J.T. McCampbell and negro druggist in a robbery on March 15, 1933, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Execution Date: March 4, 1938

Noted Details: Pellets released at 6:21 a.m. Pronounced dead by Dr. W.W. Rambo between 6:25 and 6:26 a.m.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 34

Crime: Convicted of killing Kansas City, Missouri motorcycle patrolman, William Cavanaugh, in a tavern holdup on April 7, 1936.

Execution Date: March 4, 1938

Noted Details: Pellets released at 6:21 a.m. Pronounced dead by Dr. W.W. Rambo between 6:24 and 6:25 a.m.

Last Meal: Pork chops, potatoes and biscuits.

Age: 33

Crime: Convicted of killing W. Dale Sanford of Kansas City, Kansas on April 9, 1936, on HWY 40 near Oak Grove, Missouri. Boyer met him in Kansas City, Missouri, and persuaded him to drive to St. Louis. After killing him he took his car and clothes.

Execution Date: March 5, 1938

Noted Details: Taken to the gas chamber at 5:00 a.m., entered the gas chamber at 6:18 a.m., and was pronounced dead at 6:23-6:24 a.m. by Dr. W.W. Rambo and Dr. H.S. Gove.

Last Meal: Egg sandwich and coffee.

Age: 32

Crime: Convicted of the murders of Justice of the Peace Philip R. Rabenau and Dr. William E. Poole after a quarrel over litigation in the justice court.

Execution Date: June 30, 1938

Noted Details: Batson was condemned to hang for slaying Poole but the supreme court reversed that sentence on a technicality, later upholding his conviction for shooting Rabenau.

Last Meal: A large steak.

Age: 35

Crime: Convicted of brutally attacking a farm woman in New Madrid County, Missouri after tying her husband to a bedpost.

Execution Date: July 14, 1938

Noted Details: Taken to the gas chamber at 12:03 a.m. Pellets released at 12:07 a.m. Pronounced dead after four minutes.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 28

Crime: Richetti, Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and Verne Miller, a South Dakota Sheriff turned gangster, were named by federal officials as the Kansas City, Missouri Union Station murderers. The crime took place on June 17, 1933. Killed were federal agent R.J. Caffrey, Police Chief Otto Reid of McAlester, Oklahoma, and two Kansas City, Missouri police officers – William J. Grooms and Frank E. Hermanson.

Execution Date: October 7, 1938

Noted Details: None mentioned.

Last Meal: Same meal as MSP staff: eggs, steak, potatoes, eggplant, corn, pineapple, cookies and cake.

Age: 28

Crime: Convicted of killing Howard Preston during a Kansas City, Missouri burglary on the night of October 19, 1936.

Execution Date: October 28, 1938

Noted Details: None mentioned.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 28

Crime: Convicted of killing George Speer, a St. Louis taxi driver, after robbing him of $3.25 on January 17, 1936. Speer identified King on his death bed.

Execution Date: November 4, 1938

Noted Details: Before his execution at 1:28 a.m., King smoked cigarettes and chatted with prison staff. He was dead seven minutes later.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 63

Crime: Convicted of killing George Williams, a farmer, near St. Genevieve, Missouri on August 11, 1935. Williams was killed over two hogs.

Execution Date: February 15, 1939

Noted Details: Williamson was first sen­tenced to hang for his crime.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 24

Crime: Convicted of kidnapping and murdering Dr. J.C.B. Davis of Springs, Missouri on January 26, 1937. The crime was committed in an attempt to obtain $5,000 so Kenyon could marry his sweetheart, Opel Welch.

Execution Date: April 28, 1939

Noted Details: Kenyon was baptized at Missouri State Penitentiary on April 26, 1938.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 31

Crime: Convicted of fatally shooting Daisy Edmond, his paramour, on August 3, 1938, at her home in Joplin, Missouri.

Execution Date: September 20, 1940

Noted Details: Jackson died in the gas chamber with Robert West.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 25

Crime: Convicted of killing Vivion Davidson, his childhood sweetheart, on June 8, 1938, as she sat in an automobile near the home of relatives in St. Louis County.

Execution Date: September 20, 1940

Noted Details: West helped to quarry the stone which was used to build the Missouri State Penitentiary gas chamber. He died in the gas chamber with Chester Jackson.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 40

Crime: Convicted of killing two children, Sarah Mitchell, age 13, and Willis Mitchell, age 15, on September 27, 1940, over an argument for $5. The crime took place near Neelyville, Missouri.

Execution Date: January 3, 1941

Noted Details: Johnson also killed two others in the same incident which included the children’s grandmother.

Last Meal: Fried chicken, gravy, biscuits, lemon soda and a cigar.

Age: 37

Crime: Convicted of murder.

Execution Date: April 24, 1942

Noted Details: Tyler hummed quiet snatches of the ballad “Frankie & Johnnie” while doctors from St. Louis Washington University strapped microphones to his chest so they could hear him die.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 73

Crime: Convicted of murdering a teenage girl with a pitch fork after she refused his “amorous advances.”

Execution Date: June 16, 1944

Noted Details: While being led into the gas chamber, Lambus asked the Warden “to call the Governor man again.”

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 20

Crime: Convicted of raping and killing a female in Wellston (St. Louis County), Missouri in January of 1944 after holding her at knifepoint.

Execution Date: October 19, 1944

Noted Details: None mentioned.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 22

Crime: Convicted for the 1941 slaying of St. Louis county farmer Martin Twillman. Twillman was shot when Lyles and William E. Talbert attempted to steal the farmer’s truck.

Execution Date: May 25, 1945

Noted Details: The Lyles execution was the first in Missouri where a female was allowed to be a witness. William Talbert was executed for the same crime on November 16, 1945.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 24

Crime: Convicted of killing Martin Twillman, a farmer from St. Louis County, Missouri in 1941 as he attempted to steal his truck.

Execution Date: November 16, 1945

Noted Details: Talbert acted in concert with Leo Lyles, Lee Butler, and Willie Clayton. Lyles was executed on May 25, 1945. Butler and Clayton received life sentences.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 23

Crime: Convicted of the brutal murder, beating, and burning death of Mrs. Mary Santo, age 56, on December 12, 1943 in Pacific, Missouri.

Execution Date: August 16, 1946

Noted Details: Ellis acted in concert with Jesse Sanford who was executed on the same date. The motive for the crime was robbery, which netted only $5.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 37

Crime: Convicted of the brutal robbery and homicide of Mary Santo, age 56, of Potosi, Missouri. She was beaten and burned to death on December 12, 1943.

Execution Date: August 16, 1946

Noted Details: Sanford was executed with a codefendant, Fred Ellis. The two obtained only $5 in the robbery.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 37

Crime: Convicted of murdering Lena Davidson, age 19, during a robbery in St. Louis, Missouri on May 1, 1945. Ramsey slit her throat.

Execution Date: January 9, 1947

Noted Details: None mentioned.

Last Meal: Spring fried chicken, french fried potatoes, cream gravy, peas, biscuits, and lemon pie.

Age: 59

Crime: Convicted of the brutal rape of 13-year-old Gladys Jeffries as she was going home from a movie on June 2, 1945.

Execution Date: January 24, 1947

Noted Details: Perkins’ trial made legal history when the Missouri Supreme Court upheld for the first time the use of a recorded verbal confession in circuit court. Perkins served two previous sentences for assault with intent to kill. He also served time in Kansas, Michigan and Illinois.

Last Meal: Fried chicken, cream gravy, french fries, peas, hot biscuits, jelly, peach pie, milk and coffee.

Age: 37

Crime: Convicted of the rape and slaying of Mary Lou Jenkins. Jenkins was strangled with a lamp cord on February 5, 1946 at her home in Columbia.

Execution Date: September 26, 1947

Noted Details: Cochran was arrested after he killed his wife with a shotgun. He admitted his crime.

Last Meal: T-bone steak, french fries, scalloped corn, cream gravy, bread, butter, cake, and coffee, and then decided not to eat his meal.

Age: 49

Crime: Convicted of killing his wife, Verla Scott, by shooting her with a rifle on March 29, 1948 in Mountain Grove, Missouri.

Execution Date: November 4, 1949

Noted Details: Before killing his wife, he shot and killed Circuit Judge Charles H. Jackson of Mountain Grove, Missouri. Scott thought the two were having an affair.

Last Meal: Declined a special meal stating, “the regular food here is good enough for me.”

Age: 35

Crime: Convicted of shooting and killing a Kansas City, Missouri police officer at an apartment during a gun battle on September 20, 1948.

Execution Date: December 2, 1949

Noted Details: During the gun battle, Scott killed four policemen and a bystander.

Last Meal: Fried chicken, french fries and ice cream.

Age: 56

Crime: Convicted of shooting and killing Fred Matchett and Mr. & Mrs. Delbert Matchett in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 25, 1945.

Execution Date: May 19th, 1950

Noted Details: Tiedt’s execution was the first death sentence to be carried out from Buchannan County, Missouri since 1909.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 39

Crime: Convicted of beating MSP inmate John Manor to death with a hammer in the prison yard on January 10, 1948.

Execution Date: January 5, 1951

Noted Details: Before his execution, McGee was asked why he didn’t eat his last meal. His response was “I’m saving it for later.” McGee and Manor, his victim, entered MSP in 1937 for the murder of a Mississippi County man. On October 31, 1945, he escaped with inmate Bert Ivan Grimm and kidnapped a Jefferson City insurance agent.

Last Meal: Stewed chicken, biscuits and ice cream.

Age: 29

Crime: Convicted of leaving MSP as a trustee on August 9, 1952 and becoming intoxicated. He went to Bella Vista Apartments on East Capitol Avenue in Jefferson City, Missouri where he brutally beat and raped 70-year-old Mrs. Belle Agee.

Execution Date: October 28, 1952

Noted Details: Porter signed a confession. Cole County District Judge Sam E. Blair, who gave him the death sentence, was a witness to his execution.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 53

Crime: Convicted of killing Louvenia Julia Webb in Kansas City, Missouri in 1951.

Execution Date: May 29, 1953

Noted Details: Quilling also killed two other black women; Mrs. Irene Boggs and Cal E. Dodd.

Last Meal: Fried chicken, fried catfish, fried spare ribs, french fries, potato salad, rolls, fig jam, coffee, milk, pie and cake.

Age: 23

Crime: Convicted of shooting and killing Sam Barenfeld during an armed robbery on January 13, 1951. Only $40 was obtained in the robbery.

Execution Date: July 10, 1953

Noted Details: Mrs. Barenfeld and a young grocery attendant identified Boyd as the killer. A bal­listics test proved that the fatal bullet came from his firearm.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 41

Crime: Convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Bobby Greenlease. Heady and Carl Austin Hall demanded $600K in ransom, at the time the largest ransom in the history of the nation, which was paid. Unknown to the family, Heady and Hall had already killed and buried Bobby soon after the abduction.

Execution Date: December 18, 1953

Noted Details: The judge who sentenced Heady and Hall called it the “most cold-blooded, brutal murder” he had ever tried. They were executed side-by-side. Heady was the only woman to be executed in the gas chamber.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 34

Crime: Convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Bobby Greenlease. Heady and Carl Austin Hall demanded $600K in ransom, at the time the largest ransom in the history of the nation, which was paid. Unknown to the family, Heady and Hall had already killed and buried Bobby soon after the abduction.

Execution Date: December 18, 1953

Noted Details: The judge who sentenced Heady and Hall called it the “most cold-blooded, brutal murder” he had ever tried. They were executed side-by-side.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 46

Crime: Convicted of killing a friend, Earl Harrison, over an argument as to who was the best baseball pitcher. Booker killed his friend on August 15, 1953.

Execution Date: April 1, 1955

Noted Details: Staff at MSP were nervous because Booker’s execution was the first following the disastrous 1954 riots.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 31

Crime: Convicted of the brutal slaying of Mrs. Wilma Allen, age 34, on August 4, 1955.

Execution Date: February 24, 1956

Noted Details: Brown had a long history of crime dating back to age 15. He had three burglary convictions, one arson, and one auto theft. At the time of his execution, he was wanted in Wyoming for shooting Sheriff Willard Marshall of Sheridan County.

Last Meal: Same meal as MSP staff: soup, crackers, fried beef steak, french fries, buttered noodles, spinach, biscuits, coffee, milk and cookies.

Age: 42

Crime: Convicted of shooting his wife on May 5, 1953 while she was in bed. His step daughter witnessed the crime.

Execution Date: September 13, 1957

Noted Details: Pronounced dead at 12:09 a.m. by Warden E.V. Nash.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 26

Crime: Convicted of killing police officer Herbert Goss while involved in a crime spree across the country.

Execution Date: July 26, 1963

Noted Details: Tucker had a partner, Douglas Thompson, who was caught one week after Officer Goss was killed. Thompson was apprehended after killing a bystander and wounding a MO State Patrol Officer.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 32

Crime: Convicted of brutally raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl on July 23, 1961 in Joplin, Missouri.

Execution Date: March 6, 1964

Noted Details: On June 24, 1962, Odom and another Death Row inmate attempted an escape by seizing and overpowering a prison guard.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 34

Crime: Convicted of luring an eight-year-old girl from a church picnic in Troy, Missouri and brutally raping her. The crime occurred three days after Wolfe was released from the Federal Prison in Atlanta, Georgia.

Execution Date: May 8, 1964

Noted Details: Wolfe is buried in Longview Cemetery in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 22

Crime: Convicted of murdering a 15-year-old delivery boy during a robbery in a St. Louis, Missouri drugstore.

Execution Date: February 26, 1965

Noted Details: Llyod L. Anderson was the last execution in Missouri by means of lethal gas.

Last Meal: None mentioned.

Age: 44

Crime: Convicted for the rape and murder of 22-year-old Karen Keeton in Belton, Missouri. At the time of the murder, Mercer had a charge against him of raping a 17-year-old girl.

Execution Date: January 6, 1989

Noted Details: “Tiny” Mercer became the first person to be executed in Missouri since 1965. His execution was carried out in the former gas chamber, which was converted to use lethal injection.

Last Meal: None mentioned.