Abraham Thomas

Abraham Thomas (1928 – July 23, 1958) was a United States Army soldier and a mass murderer who shot and killed two fellow soldiers and their girlfriends in the town of Gersthofen in West Germany on February 23, 1954. He was tried by a military court-martial, sentenced to death, and hanged in 1958. Thomas was a member of the 109th Infantry Regiment.

Events preceding the murders Thomas, who was awaiting a discharge since he was of low intellect, was infatuated with a German woman named Walburga Wenderoth. However, she was not his girlfriend and was instead with Corporal Edward Peters. Eventually, Thomas and Wenderoth stopped being friends, and on February 5, 1954, the two got into a fight at her house, which resulted in the police being called. Thomas was searched and found with a knife in his possession. He was taken into military police custody. After Thomas was advised of his rights, he told one of the officers that he was jealous of Wenderoth "running around with other men." The incident ended with only a simple delinquency report against Thomas.

On February 8, 1954, Thomas went on field maneuvers with his company. He was issued the M1 carbine regularly assigned to him. However, when Thomas's company returned to their barracks on February 20, he did not turn in his rifle as required. He went to Regensburg, and returned two days later, and went directly to Wenderoth's home. She and another woman, Anna Wiegel, were there. Thomas conversed with Wenderoth and according to pre-trial statements, "everything seemed to be okay." About 20 minutes later, however, the situation took a turn for the worse.

On April 15, 1954, Thomas was sentenced to death. In June 1954, he was transferred to the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth to await his execution. After Thomas's appeals failed and he was denied clemency by President Dwight Eisenhower, an execution date was set for July 23, 1958. Before his execution, he found comfort in religion, which helped him accept his fate. On the morning of his execution, however, Thomas was extremely hostile towards everyone at the prison. He yelled that Eisenhower didn't care about him, didn't know what he was going through, and didn't care about the common people.

On the night of his execution, Commandant Colonel James W. Davis arrived at Thomas's cell, and he was led out to the gallows. He wore his U.S. Army uniform stripped of its insignia. After Thomas mounted the scaffold, Davis read the court order that his death sentence be carried out and concluded, "May the Lord have mercy on your soul." In his final statement, Thomas thanked Davis for the treatment that he'd received on death row. He was hanged at 12:04 AM, and pronounced dead by an Army physician 17 minutes later. His remains were then placed in a coffin and shipped back to his hometown in Georgia for burial.