This is a list of people executed in New Jersey. No one has been executed by the state of New Jersey since 1963, although a statute reinstating capital punishment for murder had been in force from 1982 until 2007. New Jersey executed a total of 360 people from its inception to the abolition of the death penalty on December 17, 2007. The first person executed was a slave known to history only as Tom for a rape in 1690. The last execution was of Ralph Hudson for murder on January 22, 1963. Of those executions, 187 occurred in the 20th century. The last execution for a crime other than murder (or conspiracy to murder) was of "Sam The Younger" in 1788 for arson. The last woman executed was Margaret Meierhoffer in 1881.
The youngest person to be executed in New Jersey was 13-year-old James Guild on November 28, 1828. Guild, a slave boy, who was hanged for a murdering a white woman when he was 12 in 1827. The judge, reluctant to impose the death sentence upon someone so young, referred the case to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. However, the court upheld the death sentence for the boy.
Except for a dozen slaves executed by burning in the early 18th century, executions in New Jersey were by hanging until 1906. Electrocution was used since then, with the exception of the execution of Frederick Lang in the Middlesex County jail by hanging in 1909. Hangings in New Jersey were carried out under the authority of the county in which the condemned man or woman was convicted; after the switch to the electric chair, all executions took place under state authority in the execution chamber of the Trenton State Prison, where death row and the electric chair resided. In 1982, New Jersey reinstated a death penalty scheme after the nationwide moratorium imposed by Furman v. Georgia; a year later, the state transitioned to lethal injection as their method of execution. However, they never ended up executing any inmates by that method. To this date, Ralph Hudson's 1963 electrocution is the last execution in New Jersey's state history.
In 2006, New Jersey lawmakers drafted a moratorium on executions while a task force studied the fairness and cost of the death sentence. New Jersey had eight people on Death Row at the time. On December 10, 2007, the New Jersey Senate passed a bill to repeal the current death penalty statute and replaced it with life imprisonment without parole. On Dec. 13, 2007, the state's General Assembly adopted the same law. Governor Corzine signed the bill into law on December 17, 2007. All eight of New Jersey's death row inmates (including Jesse Timmendequas, whose rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in 1994 led to the creation of laws requiring community notification of registered sex offenders) had their sentences commuted to life without parole.
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| Robert Henson || ? || Black || Hanging || || Mercer || Murder in the course of arson
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| John Young || ? ||White || Hanging || || Burlington || Murder and robbery of Washington Hunter, on January 24, 1901; co-defendant of Charles Brown
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| Henry Schaub || ? || White || Hanging || || Essex || Murder
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| Peter Herna || ? || White || Hanging || || Bergen || Murder
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| Lafayette Gruff ||21 ||White || Hanging || || Camden || Murder of his young wife, Marie Ann "Mamie" Gertrude (née Brown)
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| Job Williams || 24 || Black || Hanging || || Cumberland || Murder in the course of a robbery
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| Paul A. Woodward ||23 ||White || Hanging || || Camden || Murder of John Coffin and Price Jennings, with strychnine
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| Frank Raisinger || ? || White || Hanging || || Cumberland || Murder
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| Arthur Laster || ? || Black || Hanging || || Passaic || Murder in the course of a robbery
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| Joseph Miller || ? || Black || Hanging || || Passaic || Murder
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| Edwin Tapley, Jr. || ? || Black || Hanging || || Hudson || Murder
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| Charles Long || ? || Black || Hanging || || Mercer || Murder
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| Nicholas Murdaco || 23 || White || Hanging || || Hudson || Murder
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| Jerry Rossa || ? || White || Hanging || || Bergen || Murder
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| Guisseppe Marmo || ? || White || Hanging || || Essex || Murder
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| Rufus Johnson || 31 || Black || Hanging || || Burlington || Murder in the course of a sexual assault and robbery
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| George Smalls || ? || Black || Hanging || || Burlington || Murder in the course of a sexual assault and robbery
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| Edward Brown || ? || Black || Hanging || || Monmouth || Murder
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| Samuel Monich || ? || White || Hanging || || Morris || Murder
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| Saverio DiGiovanni || 31 || White || Electric chair || || Somerset || Murder of Joseph Sansome in September 1907
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| Stephen Dorsey || 26 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder in the course of a robbery
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| Charles Gibson || 31 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder in the course of a robbery
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| James Stewart || 22 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| Gilbert Matticks || 45 || Black || Electric chair || || Cumberland || Murder
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| George Wilson || 27 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder in the course of a robbery
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| Michael Tomasi || 25 || White || Electric chair || || Hunterdon || Murder
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| Giacento Ricci || 35 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder in the course of a sexual assault
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| John Montessana || 50 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Sabino Millilio || 32 || White || Electric chair || || Hudson || Murder
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| Adolphus Walker || 27 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| Frederick Lang ||26 || White || Hanging || || Middlesex || Murder of his niece, Gate Gordon, on April 20, 1906, after she rejected his marriage proposal; he was hanged because the murder occurred before the electric chair law came into effect
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| Adolph Bertchey || 49 || White || Electric chair || || Ocean || Murder during a burglary
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| Richard Donegan || 27 || White || Electric chair || || Cumberland || Murder
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| George Ves || 32 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder
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| Petro Silverio || 39 || White || Electric chair || || Passaic || Murder
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| Arthur Rose || 25 || Black || Electric chair || || Passaic || Murder
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| Howard Savage || 35 || Black || Electric chair || || Hudson || Murder
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| Gyula Toft || 22 || White || Electric chair || || Somerset || Murder
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| John Sears || 31 || Black || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder during a burglary
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| Christopher Buntin || 34 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Frank Heideman || 27 || White || Electric chair || || Monmouth || Murder in the course of a sexual assault
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| Antonio Luciano || 28 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Mariano Bellini || 25 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder
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| Alexander Kompovic || 62 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder
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| Joseph Kiviatkowski || 30 || White || Electric chair || || Hudson || Murder
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| Charles Ford || 43 || White || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| Sanders Sylvanus || 45 || White || Electric chair || || Hunterdon || Murder
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| William Diamond || 21 || Black || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder of Eli Stetser, a prison guard, during attempted prison break on Sept. 22, 1913
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| Edwin Williams || 30 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| William Overton || 27 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Antonio Fiore || 34 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Raffael Longo || 46 || White || Electric chair || || Union || Murder
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| John Dolan || 41 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Joseph Toth || 23 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder
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| Stefano Ruggierri || 17 || White || Electric chair || || Somerset || Murder
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| George Green || 24 || Black || Electric chair || || Monmouth || Murder of Charles A. Ely during a burglary and robbery of $27 at Ely's home on September 9, 1914; was brother-in-law of Richard Sparks
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| Griffin James Johnson || 46 || Black || Electric chair || || Burlington || Murder of Laura Smith, his girlfriend, during an argument on September 14, 1914
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| Richard Sparks || 17 || Black || Electric chair || || Monmouth || Murder of Charles A. Ely during a burglary and robbery of $27 at Ely's home on September 9, 1914; was brother-in-law of George Green
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| George Washington Knight || 26 || Black || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder of Edith M. Wilson, March 12, 1921, in the course of a sexual assault and robbery
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| George DiStefano || 25 || White || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Michael Mule || 23 || White || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Connie Scarponi || 23 || White || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| John Favorito || 25 || White || Electric chair || || Bergen || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Kurt Barth || 22 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Romaine Johnson || 32 || Black || Electric chair || || Cumberland || Murder during the course of a sexual assault and robbery
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| Bruno Richard Hauptmann || 36 || White || Electric chair || || Hunterdon || Famous kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. on March 2, 1932
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| Charles Zied || 37 || White || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| Edward Metelski || 26 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder of a police officer
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| Ramon Cota (AKA Orby Hethcoat) || 35 || White || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder
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| William Stephan || 29 || White || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Doran Roach || 27 || Black || Electric chair || || Union || Murder of Celia Kadesh and her daughter by stabbing
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| Albert Faria || 30 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Harry Simmons || 26 || Native American || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Smalley Burrell || 23 || Black || Electric chair || || Gloucester || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| William Brown || 23 || Black || Electric chair || || Gloucester || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Walter Dworecki || 42 || White || Electric chair || || Camden || Conspiracy to commit murder
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| William Kupkosky || 31 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| George Foulds || 23 || White || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Robert Cox || 31 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| John Swan || 26 || Black || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Sexual assault and murder of 20-year-old Marion Oliver
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| Howard Jefferson || 30 || Black || Electric chair || || Salem || Murder during the course of a sexual assault
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| Arthur Degroat || 35 || Black || Electric chair || || Bergen || Murder
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| Daniel Molnar || 25 || White || Electric chair || || Middlesex || Murder of Adam Roszanski (his father-in-law) during a shooting spree after an argument with his wife; also indicted for murdering Deputy Police Chief Robert Shanley, Patrolman Walter Rusinack, and 11-year-old Alice Scott, December 7, 1944
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| Robert Deegan || 28 || White || Electric chair || || Bergen || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| James Brooks || 24 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| George Hicks || 22 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| George Cole || 24 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Ralph Cordasco || 51 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Alfred Collins || 36 || Black || Electric chair || || Gloucester || Murder during the course of a sexual assault and robbery
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| Buford Tansimore || 52 || Black || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Howard Auld || 26 || White || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder during the course of a sexual assault
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| Clarence Smith || 38 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Frederick Dunk || 26 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Robert Jellison || 23 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Irving Peterson || 33 || Black || Electric chair || || Monmouth || Murder
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| Theodore Walker || 22 || Black || Electric chair || || Mercer || Murder during the course of a sexual assault and robbery
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| James Beard || 40 || Black || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder
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| Frank Roscus || 34 || White || Electric chair || || Essex || Murder
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| Eugene Monahan || 44 || White || Electric chair || || Union || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Felipe Rios || 27 || Asian (Filipino) || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Joaquin Rodriguez || 33 || Asian (Filipino) || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Jose Cruz || 25 || Asian (Filipino) || Electric chair || || Camden || Murder during the course of a robbery
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| Alfred Stokes || 21 || Black || Electric chair || || Union || Murder of Clinton E. Bond, a 37-year-old police sergeant, during a botched holdup/robbery on February 12, 1954
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| Harry Wise || 22 || Black || Electric chair || || Union || Murder of Clinton E. Bond, a 37-year-old police sergeant, during a botched holdup/robbery on February 12, 1954
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| Ralph Hudson || 43 || White || Electric chair || || Atlantic || Murder of Myrtle Hudson, his estranged wife
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A complete list of 15,269 executions in the United States prior to the reintroduction of capital punishment in the 1970s was compiled by M. Watt Espy and John Ortiz Smykla, and was made available through the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.