Oscar Comery

Oscar J. Comery (1881 or 1882 – February 18, 1916) was hanged in Concord, New Hampshire at 12:31 a.m. at the New Hampshire State Prison on February 18, 1916 at the age of 34. According to the Concord Evening Monitor, February 18, 1916, Comery was convicted of murdering his wife. He confessed to killing his wife by poisoning her with strychnine by replacing the quinine his wife normally took with the poison. An autopsy was performed and strychnine was determined to be the cause of death.

Comery killed his wife on November 29, 1914, was arrested on January 1, 1915, brought to trial on February 8, 1915, where he "pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree with the expectation that the court would sentence him to life imprisonment" (Concord Evening Monitor).

Comery was the first of only three people executed by the state of New Hampshire in the 20th century. The other two were Frederick Small in 1918 and Howard Long in 1939.

• Executions in the U.S. 1608-1987: The Espy File (by state) (PDF)