<P> Rainey Bethea ( c. 1909 -- August 14 , 1936 ) was the last person to be publicly executed in the United States . Bethea , who confessed to the rape and murder of a 70 - year - old woman named Lischia Edwards , was convicted of her rape and publicly hanged in Owensboro , Kentucky . Mistakes in performing the hanging and the surrounding media circus contributed to the end of public executions in the United States . </P>
<P> Rainey Bethea ( c. 1909 -- August 14 , 1936 ) was the last person to be publicly executed in the United States . Bethea , who confessed to the rape and murder of a 70 - year - old woman named Lischia Edwards , was convicted of her rape and publicly hanged in Owensboro , Kentucky . Mistakes in performing the hanging and the surrounding media circus contributed to the end of public executions in the United States . </P>
who was the last person publicly executed in the us
who was the last person publicly executed in the us
Rainey Bethea
Rainey Bethea