James W. Rodgers

Background Rodgers was born on August 3, 1910, in Lubbock, Texas, and was the eldest of five brothers and six sisters. His education was interrupted during the eighth grade. Following an altercation on June 19 of that year, James W. Rodgers shot miner Charles Merrifield, Rodgers claimed that he was suffering from syphilis and pleaded "guilty by reason of insanity". However, Merrifield was determined to have been shot by Rodgers' .38-caliber handgun while at the controls of the large shovel at the mine. Rodgers said that he was not worried because he would succumb to syphilis before his execution. However, he did not test positive for the disease under medical examination. He made no request for a special last meal nor other favors before his execution.

Execution

Rodgers's body was claimed for burial in California by his mother, who had last visited him ten days before the execution. Rodgers would be the last person to die by firing squad in the United States for almost 17 years, until Gary Gilmore became the first to be executed after the reinstatement of capital punishment by the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Gregg v. Georgia.