# Howard Long > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Howard_Long > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Howard_Long.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Long > Source revision: 1346532609 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American murderer (1905–1939)}} {{Other uses}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox criminal | image = Howard_Long.jpg | name = Howard Long | birth_date = {{birth date|1905|9|21}} | birth_place = [Hartford, Connecticut](/source/Hartford%2C_Connecticut), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1939|7|14|1905|9|21}} | death_place = [New Hampshire State Prison](/source/New_Hampshire_State_Prison_for_Men), New Hampshire, U.S. | criminal_status = [Executed by hanging](/source/Execution_by_hanging) | conviction = [First degree murder](/source/First_degree_murder) | criminal penalty = [Death](/source/Capital_punishment_in_New_Hampshire) (verdict reached {{start date|1937|12|13}}) | victims = 2 | beginyear = 1924 | endyear = 1937 | apprehended = {{start date|1937|09|14}} }} '''Howard Long''' (September 21, 1905 – July 14, 1939) was an American convicted murderer who was [executed](/source/Capital_punishment) for the 1937 murder of 10-year-old Mark Neville Jensen in [Gilford, New Hampshire](/source/Gilford%2C_New_Hampshire). Long remains the most recent person to be executed by the state of [New Hampshire](/source/New_Hampshire).{{cite news|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/nh-house-overrides-veto-to-repeal-death-penalty/|title=NH House Overrides Veto to Repeal Death Penalty|publisher=[Courthouse News Service](/source/Courthouse_News_Service)|date=May 23, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2020}} ==Background== Long was born on September 21, 1905, in [Hartford, Connecticut](/source/Hartford%2C_Connecticut).{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83284981/native-of-city-waiting-n-h-murder/|title=Native Of City Waiting N. H. Murder Trial|work=[Hartford Courant](/source/Hartford_Courant)|date=September 16, 1937|access-date=November 18, 2020}} He was an only child, born to Sarah Long, and came from a wealthy family.{{cite news|url=https://www.concordmonitor.com/Howard-Long-hanged-in-1939-remains-the-last-state-execution-16671384|title=The noose in Laconia tells a story about the last man executed in the state|work=[Concord Monitor](/source/Concord_Monitor)|date=April 14, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220004608/https://www.concordmonitor.com/Howard-Long-hanged-in-1939-remains-the-last-state-execution-16671384|archivedate=February 20, 2020|url-status=dead}} During his youth, Long moved to [Belmont, Massachusetts](/source/Belmont%2C_Massachusetts), where he committed his first crime. In 1924, he attacked and assaulted a young girl. During the attack, the girl managed to bite Long, causing him to flee. She survived and was found by a Belmont police officer. The bite mark helped convict Long, and he was sent to a Massachusetts [reformatory](/source/reformatory). However, he was later paroled. In July 1930, Long attacked his second victim. He lured a young boy with the promise of giving him a puppy and took him to an abandoned house, where he assaulted him. The boy survived the attack and Long was subsequently confined to [Bridgewater State Hospital](/source/Bridgewater_State_Hospital). The judge overseeing the case was bribed by Long's mother, who gave him $30,000 to set up a trust. The judge then petitioned the court to parole Long, leading to his release in 1935. ==Murders== After his release, the judge bought Long a general store in [Alton, New Hampshire](/source/Alton%2C_New_Hampshire). Long left Belmont and moved to the state of [New Hampshire](/source/New_Hampshire) where he worked as the storekeeper of the general store. It was here that he committed his first murder. On November 12, 1936, Long abducted a 9-year-old boy named Armand Nadeau in [Dover](/source/Dover%2C_New_Hampshire). Long enticed Nadeau into his car and drove around with him for more than ten hours. When Long attempted to molest Nadeau, he became scared and jumped from the moving car. Nadeau hit his head and sustained a fatal head injury.{{cite book|title=Legal Executions in New England: A Comprehensive Reference, 1623-1960|page=373|author=Daniel Allen Hearn|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc Publishers}} Long went back to find the body and then hid it. The body of Nadeau was found by hunters a month after the murder, in the cellar of an abandoned house in [Rollinsford](/source/Rollinsford%2C_New_Hampshire). Nadeau's skull had been crushed. Long committed his second and final murder on September 10, 1937, in [Gilford](/source/Gilford%2C_New_Hampshire). Long murdered and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old boy named Mark Neville Jensen from [Laconia](/source/Laconia%2C_New_Hampshire).{{cite news|last=Kimble|first=James A.|date=January 25, 2008|title=Brooks argues death penalty unconstitutional|work=Derry News|publisher=[Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.](/source/CNHI)|url=http://www.derrynews.com/crimecourt/x1232764771/Brooks-argues-death-penalty-unconstitutional|access-date=July 8, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722154424/http://www.derrynews.com/crimecourt/x1232764771/Brooks-argues-death-penalty-unconstitutional|archive-date=July 22, 2012}} Jensen had been walking with his mother's dress in order to return it. He had then disappeared. Witnesses reported seeing Jensen at various towns and cities throughout that day. He was also seen at a restaurant and later was spotted walking with Long and his dog. Jensen's body was found the following night, in a wooded area in Gilford. He had been beaten to death and his head had been crushed by an automobile [screw jack](/source/screw_jack).{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/30/new-hampshire-last-execution-was-years-ago/3ttZdrLC55WIoGa7yixpKO/story.html|title=New Hampshire's last execution was 80 years ago|first=Felice|last=Belman|publisher=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)|date=May 30, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2020}} ==Trial and execution== Evidence linked Long to the murder of Jensen and police arrested him less than a week later.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-north-adams-transcript-says-long-adm/156984236/ |title=Says Long Admits Slaying Boy of 10 |newspaper=[North Adams Transcript](/source/North_Adams_Transcript) |location=[North Adams, Massachusetts](/source/North_Adams%2C_Massachusetts) |page=1 |date=September 15, 1937 |accessdate=October 12, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} Long then confessed to the murder of Jensen.{{cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/pervert-died-article-1.370807|title=The Pervert Died Alone|work=[New York Daily News](/source/New_York_Daily_News)|access-date=May 7, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812144337/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/pervert-died-article-1.370807?pgno=1|archivedate=August 12, 2017}} Further evidence also linked Long to the murder of Nadeau. The trial of Long began on December 6, 1937. On December 13, Long was found guilty and was sentenced to death. He was originally scheduled for execution on December 30, 1938, but the execution was postponed.{{cite web|title=State v. Long|work=Casetext|url=https://casetext.com/case/state-v-long-246|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250322020227/https://casetext.com/case/state-v-long-246|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 22, 2025|date=February 16, 1939|access-date=May 7, 2020}} Long was executed via [hanging](/source/hanging) at 1:27{{nbsp}}a.m. on July 14, 1939.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-howard-long-is-hanged-a/157013140/ |title=Howard Long Is Hanged At Concord |first=John J. |last=Donovan |newspaper=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe) |page=1 |date=July 14, 1939 |accessdate=October 12, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}} He was executed in a converted storeroom at the [New Hampshire State Prison](/source/New_Hampshire_State_Prison_for_Men) in [Concord](/source/Concord%2C_New_Hampshire). It took seven minutes for Long to die and the process was described in detail in a newspaper at the time. Long was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in [Manchester, New Hampshire](/source/Manchester%2C_New_Hampshire). A paper noted that the only people attending his burial were the cemetery workers. The rope that was used to hang Long was cut into smaller pieces. One piece was given to the [Laconia, New Hampshire](/source/Laconia%2C_New_Hampshire) Sheriff Frederick D. Elliot and the other piece was property of the [New Hampshire Department of Corrections](/source/New_Hampshire_Department_of_Corrections) until donated to the [New Hampshire Historical Society](/source/New_Hampshire_Historical_Society) in 2001.{{cite news|url=https://www.nhhistory.org/object/199721/rope|title=Rope|publisher=[New Hampshire Historical Society](/source/New_Hampshire_Historical_Society)|access-date=June 3, 2021}} Long remains the last person to be executed in New Hampshire. [Capital punishment](/source/Capital_punishment) was [abolished in New Hampshire](/source/Capital_punishment_in_New_Hampshire) on May 30, 2019. This could mean Long will be the last ever person to be executed by the state. However, one person, [Michael K. Addison](/source/Michael_K._Addison), still remains on [death row](/source/death_row) in New Hampshire. The abolishment was not retroactive thus does not apply to Addison's case, meaning he could still, although very unlikely, be executed.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/04/11/712457692/new-hampshire-poised-to-eliminate-death-penalty?t=1588881014359|title=New Hampshire Poised to Eliminate Death Penalty|publisher=[National Public Radio](/source/National_Public_Radio)|date=April 11, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2020}} ==See also== * [List of most recent executions by jurisdiction](/source/List_of_most_recent_executions_by_jurisdiction) * [List of people executed in New Hampshire](/source/List_of_people_executed_in_New_Hampshire) * [List of people executed in the United States in 1939](/source/List_of_people_executed_in_the_United_States_in_1939) ==References== {{reflist}} {{sequence| prev=[Frederick L. Small](/source/Frederick_L._Small)| list=[Executions carried out in New Hampshire](/source/List_of_people_executed_in_New_Hampshire)| next=None }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Howard}} Category:1905 births Category:1939 deaths Category:20th-century executions by New Hampshire Category:20th-century executions of American people Category:American murderers of children Category:American people convicted of child sexual abuse Category:American people executed for murder Category:American rapists Category:People convicted of murder by New Hampshire Category:People executed by New Hampshire by hanging Category:People from Hartford, Connecticut Category:Prisoners and detainees of Massachusetts Category:Executed people from Connecticut Category:20th-century American murderers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Howard Long](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Long) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Long?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.