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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, at least seven 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^[1] and historian Joseph Theroux^[2] 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, at least seven 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. The executions were mostly by hanging, although at least one of the executed servicemen was shot by a 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 (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 in 2014 for beating his 5-year-old daughter to death; this crime took place on US government property in 2005 while Williams was on active duty. Prosecutors sought the death penalty in a federal court.^[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]

Executions by the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1795–1894
#	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]

Executions by the Territory of Hawaii, 1894–1959
#	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