Arthur Gooch (January 4, 1909 – June 19, 1936) was an American criminal, who is notable for being the only person executed under the

Federal Kidnapping Act Following the historic Lindbergh kidnapping (the abduction and murder of Charles Lindbergh's toddler son), the United States Congress passed a federal kidnapping statute—known as the Federal Kidnapping Act, (a)(1) (popularly known as the Lindbe ...

who did not kill the victim(s). Gooch was the only person sentenced to death and executed by the

federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

for a kidnapping in which the victim(s) were not killed. Gooch and another man, Ambrose Nix, kidnapped police officers R.N. Baker and H.R. Marks in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

on November 26, 1934, and released them in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Baker was badly injured after being shoved into a glass case, which then broke during the kidnapping. This made the crime a capital offense since the victims had not been released unharmed. Nix was killed while resisting arrest on December 23, 1934. Although the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

was the only method of execution in

at this time, Gooch was executed by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. Like Gooch, another federal inmate

James Alderman James Horace Alderman (in some sources Aldermon) (June 24, 1884 – August 17, 1929) was an American convicted murderer, bootlegger and gangster during the Prohibition era in the United States. He became known in the press by names like the "Ki ...

, executed in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

on August 17, 1929, was also hanged, despite the fact that Florida state law authorized electrocution as a sole method. The sentence was carried out by Oklahoma's state executioner, Rich Owens. According to the witnesses Gooch's hanging was botched and his death lasted 15 minutes. Many blamed Owens for this failure, as this was the only hanging he ever performed and the first hanging in Oklahoma since 1911. His last words were reported to have been, "It's kind of funny—dying. I think I know what it will be like. I'll be standing there, and all of a sudden everything will be black, then there'll be a light again. There's got to be a light again—there's got to be." Gooch was 27 years old at time of his execution.

Notes and references

1909 births 1936 deaths 20th-century executions of American people People executed by the United States federal government by hanging People executed under the Federal Kidnapping Act Kidnappings in the United States {{US-crime-bio-stub

See also

Notes and references