Capital punishment in Hawaii


Capital punishment in Hawaii ended in 1957 when it was still an organized incorporated territory of the United States. About 75 people were executed by the government, all for the crime of murder, and all by hanging. Additionally, during and after World War II, three U.S. servicemen were executed by the United States Armed Forces by order of a general court martial.

History

Under post-contact common law criminal justice, the penal laws of the Kingdom, Provisional Government, Republic, and U.S. incorporated Territory of Hawaii allowed for the execution of persons convicted of capital crimes. The Espy file and historian Joseph Theroux account for about 75 individuals executed between the national and territorial governments, all for murder and all by hanging.
During and a few years after World War II, three U.S. servicemen were executed by the United States Armed Forces by order of a general court martial between 1942 and 1947 at Schofield Barracks, all the cases involving either murder or rape. Two of the executions were by hanging and the third was by firing squad.
In 1957, Hawaii, then still an organized incorporated territory of the United States, abolished the death penalty. Hawaii became a state in 1959. Aside from Alaska, it is the only U.S. state that has never had the death penalty while a state.

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 who risked hanging." Statistics show that only one white man, an Irish man named Frank Johnson, 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.

Modern use

Naeem Williams, a discharged soldier, was tried in a federal civilian court in 2014 for beating his 5-year-old daughter to death. This crime was committed on U.S. government property in 2005 while Williams was on active duty. Prosecutors sought the death penalty in a federal court. However, he was spared execution by the jury and instead sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The jury had voted 8-4 in favor of a death sentence for Williams.

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," 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. 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.
NameNationalityCrimeExecution Date
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
UnknownUnknownMurderBetween 1826–1841
Kamanawa IINative HawaiianMurder of KamokuikiOctober 20, 1840
LonopuakauNative HawaiianMurder of KamokuikiOctober 20, 1840
AhulikaNative HawaiianMurderAugust 14, 1846
KaomaliNative HawaiianMurderAugust 14, 1846
UnknownUnknownMurder1857
Pa'akaulaNative HawaiianMurderApril 3, 1867
KahaulikoNative HawaiianMurderApril 3, 1867
Ho'oleawa'awaNative HawaiianMurder1867-08-22
AgneeChineseMurderApril 9, 1869
Tin Ah ChinChineseMurderApril 9, 1869
KuheleaumokuNative HawaiianMurderMarch 21, 1873
KaaukaiNative HawaiianMurderMarch 12, 1875
UnknownUnknownMurder1880
Po'olua Native HawaiianMurderMay 20, 1881
UnknownUnknownMurder1881
Ah Hop ChineseMurderMarch 5, 1889
AkanaChineseMurderMarch 5, 1889
Woo SauChineseMurderAugust 5, 1889

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. This list does not include 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."
NameNationalityCrimeDate of execution
NoaNative HawaiianMurderDecember 13, 1897
Sagata TsunikichiJapaneseMurderMarch 25, 1898
YoshidaJapaneseMurderMarch 25, 1898
KapeaNative HawaiianMurderApril 11, 1898
Tanbara GisaburoJapaneseMurderAugust 14, 1902
Jose MirandaPuerto RicanMurderOctober 26, 1904
Kang Yong BokKoreanMurderMay 23, 1906
Shim Miung OkKoreanMurderMay 23, 1906
Woo Miung SookKoreanMurderMay 23, 1906
John O'ConnellIrishMurderMay 31, 1906
OkamotoJapaneseMurderMay 31, 1906
Lorenzo ColonPuerto RicanMurderJune 28, 1906
Yi Hi DamKoreanMurderJune 21, 1909
Jozo HigashiJapaneseMurderOctober 28, 1909
KanagawaJapaneseMurderFebruary 3, 1910
Espridon LahomFilipinoMurderFebruary 14, 1911
Eigira NakamuraJapaneseMurderJanuary 16, 1912
Miguel ManigbasFilipinoMurderJuly 8, 1913
Domingo RodriguesFilipinoMurderJuly 8, 1913
Hilao BautistaFilipinoMurderJuly 8, 1913
Simplicio JavellanaFilipinoMurderApril 7, 1914
Pak Sur ChiKoreanMurder-RobberyJune 25, 1915
Juan CoronelFilipinoMurderOctober 15, 1915
Ponciano GolasteFilipinoMurderOctober 15, 1915
Feliciano HiranoFilipinoMurderOctober 15, 1915
Yee Kelik YoKoreanMurderJanuary 26, 1917
Gabriel VerverFilipinoMurderOctober 26, 1917
Florencia BoneliaFilipinoMurderOctober 26, 1917
C. DojoylongsolFilipinoMurderNovember 16, 1917
Antonio GarciaFilipinoMurderNovember 30, 1917
Senkichi IchiokaJapaneseMurderJune 2, 1921
Cleofe RuizPuerto RicanMurderOctober 26, 1923
Narciso ReyesFilipinoMurderMay 27, 1927
Marcelo RiveraFilipinoMurderMay 27, 1927
Pilipi AusteroFilipinoMurderAugust 12, 1927
Lacambra SantiagoFilipinoMurderAugust 12, 1927
Vicente KagalFilipinoMurderMarch 2, 1929
Myles FukunagaJapaneseMurder-KidnappingNovember 19, 1929
Lazaro CaliboFilipinoMurderJuly 28, 1932
Leoncio EncinoFilipinoMurderJuly 15, 1933
Risalino TabioloFilipinoMurderNovember 1, 1933
Solomon MahoeNative HawaiianMurderAugust 5, 1937
Mateo QuinonesFilipinoMurderMay 27, 1940
Mariano FloresFilipinoMurderSeptember 19, 1941
Anaclito GagarinFilipinoMurderOctober 24, 1941
Adriano DomingoFilipinoMurder-Attempted RapeJanuary 7, 1944

Additional reading