Documenting and Analyzing the History of Federal Executions
James Moran
James Moran sailed aboard William Wirt, captained by Thomas S. Smith. While at sea, the nineteen-year old Moran killed Smith.
New York Evening Post, January 14, 1837
James Moran was hanged before a large and unruly crowd in Philadelphia on May 19, 1837. His was the state’s last public execution and last execution for piracy.
I am a sociologist and death penalty scholar at the State University of New York at Geneseo. I am also a Pittsburgh native. My present research focuses on the history of the death penalty in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa.
This website is dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about all Allegheny County cases in which a death sentence was imposed.
Please share any questions or comments, errors or omissions, or other matters of interest related to these cases or to the broader history of the death penalty in Allegheny County.
View all posts by Bill Lofquist
The Federal Death Penalty Project 