bizarre death row stat...

[zombie no.one]

I was randomly wiki trawling yesterday, and got onto searching through 'people executed in the USA' stats since 1990.

wiki has the full names of every person executed, per year.

I noticed something... the instance of the executees middle name being either LEE, RAY, WAYNE, or EUGENE seems ridiculously disproportionate... there is no year from 1990 to 2026 where at least one executed guy doesn't have one of these as a middle name. but usually there's a few of each.

e.g., of the 74 guys executed in 1997, there were 7 Lee's, 5 Wayne's, 3 Eugene's, and 2 Ray's, as middle names..

in 1999, twelve of the 98 guys executed had the middle name 'Lee'

- these names hardly ever cropped up as first names, either. just middle names

mysterious or explainable? 

[Alex]

I know if I'd been named Eugene, there would have been at least two people I'd have killed.

[zombie no.one]

arf....


also I've just remembered, Chucky from CHILD'S PLAY is possessed by the ghost of a (fictional) serial killer called Charles Lee Ray 

edit - ok in the film Charles Lee Ray wasn't executed on death row, but was shot by a police officer... still a bit weird

[Rev. Powell]

Lee, at least, is a very common male middle name in the South. (They say it's to honor Robert E. Lee.) The others are more statistically quirky.

[zombie no.one]

Lee, at least, is a very common male middle name in the South. (They say it's to honor Robert E. Lee.)

right ok. interesting. that could account for some...

btw another middle name that was cropping up a fair bit was DeWayne... not 'Dwayne' or 'Duane'. not sure I've even encountered 'DeWayne' as a name before? (I didn't include those in with the regular 'Wayne's I was finding).

[Trevor]

I know if I'd been named Eugene, there would have been at least two people I'd have killed.

Oy 😳😄😆🤣😅😂🐢

[zombie no.one]

1540 executions since 1990 to present date.

middle-name count:

Lee = 92
Wayne = 54
Ray = 40
Eugene = 33

this means if you're executed in USA, there's a one-in-seven chance you'll have one of these as a middle name...

[Trevor]

1540 executions since 1990 to present date.

middle-name count:

Lee = 92
Wayne = 54
Ray = 40
Eugene = 33

this means if you're executed in USA, there's a one-in-seven chance you'll have one of these as a middle name...

I'm Trevor Thomas so I guess I'm lucky 😉😉🐢

[zombie no.one]

1540 executions since 1990 to present date.

middle-name count:

Lee = 92
Wayne = 54
Ray = 40
Eugene = 33

this means if you're executed in USA, there's a one-in-seven chance you'll have one of these as a middle name...

I'm Trevor Thomas so I guess I'm lucky 😉😉🐢

I'm one of those strange people that doesn't actually have a middle name... all my 3 brothers do, but not me   

[LilCerberus]

Makes me wonder how many of the Waynes had the first name John, like John Wayne Gacy, or John Wayne Bobbitt.....

[zombie no.one]

Makes me wonder how many of the Waynes had the first name John, like John Wayne Gacy, or John Wayne Bobbitt.....

2002 and 1997 were the two biggest years for 'Wayne's, with 5 each... no John Wayne's though.

[zombie no.one]

I now consider myself an official authority on this subject.

it's a bit niche, but I'll take it.

[claws]

This is what AI had to say about this:

The data you're looking at is a well-known observation in true crime circles, often referred to as the "Middle Name Theory." While the numbers look striking at first glance, they are generally considered a result of statistical probability and cultural naming trends rather than a "strange pattern" of criminal behavior.

If we looked for the middle name "James," "John," or "Edward," we would likely find even higher or similar numbers.

[zombie no.one]

If we looked for the middle name "James," "John," or "Edward," we would likely find even higher or similar numbers.

okay AI, I'll try this