Capital punishment in Hawaii
Capital punishment in Hawaii ended in 1957 when it was still an
History
Under post-contact
During and a few years after
In 1957, Hawaii, then still an
Analysis
Hawaii's death penalty has received criticism for almost exclusively targeting racial minorities within the country. Very few executions in Hawaii were of white Americans or Native Hawaiians, to the point where some Hawaiians speculated that the abolition of the death penalty occurred "because there were too many haole (Caucasians) who risked hanging."[2] Statistics show that only one white man, an Irish man named Frank Johnson (alias John O'Connell), was ever executed in the Territory of Hawaii. The rest of the people confirmed to have been executed during that period were of various Asian nationalities, including Filipinos, Chinese people, Japanese people, and Koreans.[2]
Modern use
Naeem Williams, a discharged soldier, was taken to federal civilian court for beating his 5-year-old daughter to death; this crime took place on US Government property while Williams was on active duty. Under a federal court a death sentence was sought.[3] However, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole instead.[4]
List of people executed by the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1795–1894
All 29 of the executions confirmed to have occurred in the Hawaiian Kingdom between its formation in 1795, and its transition to the Territory of Hawaii in 1894. All executions were carried out by hanging. Sources include the ESPY Files and Joseph Theroux's "A Short History of Hawaiian Executions, 1826-1947,"[1][2] as well as, for the first 13, Charles Wilkes's Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, which did not go into specifics about each of the 13 executions but only broke down the number of executions on each Hawaiian island (3 on Kauai, 7 on Oahu, 2 on Maui, and 1 on the island of Hawaii).[5] Sources for some of the executions between 1846 and 1889 include the Annual Report of the Chief Justice, 1858, and the Biennial Report of the Chief Justice, 1882.[2]
# | Name | Nationality | Crime | Execution Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
2 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
3 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
4 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
5 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
6 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
7 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
8 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
9 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
10 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
11 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
12 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
13 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | Between 1826–1841 |
14 | Ahulika | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1846-08-14 |
15 | Kaomali | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1846-08-14 |
16 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | 1857 (unknown month and day) |
17 | Pa'akaula | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1867-04-03 |
18 | Kahauliko | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1867-04-03 |
19 | Ho'oleawa'awa | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1867-08-22 |
20 | Agnee | Chinese | Murder | 1869-04-09 |
21 | Tin Ah Chin | Chinese | Murder | 1869-04-09 |
22 | Kuheleaumoku | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1873-03-21 |
23 | Kaaukai | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1875-03-12 |
24 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | 1880 (unknown month and day) |
25 | Po'olua (Poloa) | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1881-05-20 |
26 | Unknown | Unknown | Murder | 1881 (unknown month and day) |
27 | Ah Hop (Ahapa) | Chinese | Murder | 1889-03-05 |
28 | Akana | Chinese | Murder | 1889-03-05 |
29 | Woo Sau | Chinese | Murder | 1889-08-05 |
List of people executed by the Territory of Hawaii, 1894–1959
All 49 of the men confirmed to have been executed by the Territory of Hawaii prior to the pre-statehood abolition of the death penalty in 1957. Only civilian executions; not including military executions. All executions were carried out by hanging. Sources include the ESPY Files and Joseph Theroux's "A Short History of Hawaiian Executions, 1826-1947."[1][2]
# | Name | Nationality | Crime | Execution Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Noa | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1897-12-13 |
2 | Sagata Tsunikichi | Japanese | Murder | 1898-03-25 |
3 | Yoshida | Japanese | Murder | 1898-03-25 |
4 | Kapea | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1898-04-11 |
5 | Tanbara Gisaburo | Japanese | Murder | 1902-08-14 |
6 | Jose Miranda | Puerto Rican | Murder | 1904-10-26 |
7 | Kang Yong Bok | Korean | Murder | 1906-05-23 |
8 | Shim Miung Ok | Korean | Murder | 1906-05-23 |
9 | Woo Miung Sook | Korean | Murder | 1906-05-23 |
10 | John O'Connell | Irish | Murder | 1906-05-31 |
11 | Okamoto | Japanese | Murder | 1906-05-31 |
12 | Lorenzo Colon | Puerto Rican | Murder | 1906-06-28 |
13 | Yi Hi Dam | Korean | Murder | 1909-06-21 |
14 | Jozo Higashi | Japanese | Murder | 1909-10-28 |
15 | Kanagawa | Japanese | Murder | 1910-02-03 |
16 | Espridon Lahom | Filipino | Murder | 1911-02-14 |
17 | Eigira Nakamura | Japanese | Murder | 1912-01-16 |
18 | Miguel Manigbas | Filipino | Murder | 1913-07-08 |
19 | Domingo Rodrigues | Filipino | Murder | 1913-07-08 |
20 | Hilao Bautista | Filipino | Murder | 1913-07-08 |
21 | Simplicio Javellana | Filipino | Murder | 1914-04-07 |
22 | Pak Sur Chi | Korean | Murder | 1915-06-25 |
23 | Juan Coronel | Filipino | Murder | 1915-10-15 |
24 | Ponciano Golaste | Filipino | Murder | 1915-10-15 |
25 | Feliciano Hirano | Filipino | Murder | 1915-10-15 |
26 | Yee Kelik Yo | Korean | Murder | 1917-01-26 |
27 | Gabriel Verver | Filipino | Murder | 1917-10-26 |
28 | Florencia Bonelia | Filipino | Murder | 1917-10-26 |
29 | C. Dojoylongsol | Filipino | Murder | 1917-11-16 |
30 | Antonio Garcia | Filipino | Murder | 1917-11-30 |
31 | Senkichi Ichioka | Japanese | Murder | 1921-06-02 |
32 | Cleofe Ruiz | Puerto Rican | Murder | 1923-10-26 |
33 | Narciso Reyes | Filipino | Murder | 1927-05-27 |
34 | Marcelo Rivera | Filipino | Murder | 1927-05-27 |
35 | Pilipi Austero | Filipino | Murder | 1927-08-12 |
36 | Lacambra Santiago | Filipino | Murder | 1927-08-12 |
37 | Vicente Kagal | Filipino | Murder | 1929-03-02 |
38 | Myles Fukunaga | Japanese | Murder of George Gill Jamieson | 1929-11-19 |
39 | Lazaro Calibo | Filipino | Murder | 1932-07-28 |
40 | Leoncio Encino | Filipino | Murder | 1933-07-15 |
41 | Risalino Tabiolo | Filipino | Murder | 1933-11-01 |
42 | Solomon Mahoe | Native Hawaiian | Murder | 1937-08-05 |
43 | Mateo Quinones | Filipino | Murder | 1940-05-27 |
44 | Mariano Flores | Filipino | Murder | 1941-09-19 |
45 | Anaclito Gagarin | Filipino | Murder | 1941-10-24 |
46 | Adriano Domingo | Filipino | Murder of Helen R. Sakamoto | 1944-01-07 |
References
- ^ a b c Executions is the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File Executions by State https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ESPYstate.pdf
- ^ (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2022 – via eVols.
- ^ KELLEHER, JENNIFER. "Hawaii Set To Have Death Penalty Trial — Despite Abolishing Capital Punishment In 1957". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Austin, Henry (27 May 2015). "Mother of girl brutally murdered by her ex-soldier father successfully sues US government for $2m". Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Wilkes, Charles (1844). Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Philadelphia: C. Sherman.