John Gordon (1815 – February 14, 1845) was the last person executed by Rhode Island. His conviction and execution have been ascribed by researchers to anti-Roman Catholic and anti-Irish immigrant bias. As a result, he was posthumously pardoned in 2011. In September 2014, Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach of Ireland, visited the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial and in a speech praised Martin and Chafee for pardoning Gordon.