- John A. Bennett
Infobox Military Person
name=John Arthur Bennett
caption=
born=April 10, 1935
died=April 13, 1961
placeofbirth=Virginia
placeofdeath=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
placeofburial=
placeofburial_label=
nickname=
allegiance=United States
branch=Army
serviceyears=
rank=Private
unit=
commands=
battles=
awards=
relations=
laterwork=John Arthur Bennett (born
April 10 ,1935 inChatham, Virginia Fact|date=October 2008 , diedApril 13 ,1961 inFort Leavenworth ,Kansas ) was a Private First Class in the United States Army who was convicted and hanged for therape and attemptedmurder of an 11-year-old Austrian girl.cite news |author=Richard A. Serrano |title=Last Soldier to Die at Leavenworth Hanged in an April Storm |url=http://www.deathrowspeaks.info/military/militarydeathrow.html#articles |work=Los Angeles Times |page=14 |date=1994-07-12 |accessdate=2008-10-01 ] Bennett was the last person to be executed by the U.S. Military as of October 2008 [cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/01/scotus.child.rape/index.html |title=Court: Ban on execution of child rapists stands |accessdate=2008-10-01 |author=Bill Mears |date=2008-10-01 |work=CNN.com |quote=The last execution by the U.S. military for any crime was in 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for raping an 11-year-old girl, according to Pentagon records. ] , although President George W. Bush confirmed the death sentence of Spc.Ronald A. Gray . [cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/45781.html |title=Bush approves execution of soldier, first in 50 years |accessdate=2008-10-01 |author=Barbara Barrett |date=2008-07-28 |work=McClatchy |quote=Bush signed off on the death penalty for Ronald A. Gray, who grew up in the Liberty City area of Miami and was stationed at Fort Bragg at the time of the crimes. ]Bennett was born
epileptic . One evening in January 1955, a heavily intoxicated Bennett left his army post to find a brothel, but stumbled upon a young Austrian girl. He raped her, and then attempted to drown her in a nearby stream. He was convicted one month later. Both PresidentsDwight D. Eisenhower andJohn F. Kennedy personally reviewed and approved the death sentence. The unidentified girl and her parents wrote to Kennedy, asking that Bennett's life be spared.References
External links
* [http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=32&did=988 List of U.S. Military Executions] from the Death Penalty information Center
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.