Lee Sims

Lee Sims, a 21-year-old Black man, was executed by the State of Arkansas on September 9, 1913, at the State Penitentiary in Little Rock, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. A 2017 Talk Business & Politics article reports that he was the first person put to death under a centralized state system the Arkansas General Assembly set up in place of county executions, and the first to die in the electric chair.

Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state

Reported by: Arkansas Department of Corrections (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.

News reports (2)

• Executions 1913-present Arkansas Department of Corrections, Executions
• A century of death: 196 executions, 15 governors, and Arkansas’ deadliest day Talk Business & Politics, April 1, 2017