The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Nebraska since its statehood.

Before 1903

The first execution in Nebraska reportedly was of Cyrus Tator, a former Kansas Legislature member and judge in Lykins County, Kansas who was tried and convicted of murdering his business partner in 1863.[1] Before 1903, counties carried out executions until the state took over. Since Nebraska statehood in 1867, a total of 14 people have been executed.

No. Executed person Date of execution Method Crime Victims Under Governor
1 Stephen D. Richards April 26, 1879 Hanging Murder Peter Anderson and Harlson family Silas Garber
2 Orlando Caslar May 20, 1879 George L. Monroe Albinus Nance
3 Milton W. Smith July 24, 1885 His wife (name unknown) James W. Dawes
4 Jim Reynolds May 21, 1886 James and John Pinkston
5 William Jackson MarionA March 25, 1887 John Cameron John Milton Thayer
6 David Hoffman July 22, 1887 James B. DeWitt
7 Albert Haunstine May 17, 1891 Hiram Roten and William Ashley
8 Christian FurstB June 5, 1891 Carl J. Pulsifer
9 Charles ShepherdB
10 Ed Neil October 9, 1891 Allen and Dorothy Jones
11 Clinton E. DixonC June 24, 1892 Corporal Thomas Carter James E. Boyd
12 Harry Hill March 1, 1895 Mattes Akeson Silas A. Holcomb
13 Claude H. Hoover August 7, 1896 Samual DuBois
14 George W. Morgan October 8, 1897 Ida Gaskill
A William Jackson Marion was convicted and executed for the murder of John Cameron. However, Cameron turned up alive in 1891. Marion received a posthumous pardon by Nebraska Governor Bob Kerrey on the 100th anniversary of his execution.
B B Although Christian Furst and Charles Shepherd are listed at 8 and 9, the two were hanged together simultaneously in the only double hanging in Nebraska's history.
C Private Clinton Dixon and his victim Corporal Thomas Carter were both members of the U.S. Army (Sixth U.S. Cavalry) making Dixon's execution a U.S. military execution. As such, only the President could grant clemency. President Benjamin Harrison declined to intervene.

1903–1972

A total of 20 people were executed by Nebraska after 1897 and before the 1972 Supreme Court capital punishment ban.

No. Executed person Date of execution Method Crime Victims Under Governor
1 Gottlieb Neigenfiend March 13, 1903 Hanging Murder Anna Bryer and Albert Bryer (ex-wife and ex-father in law) John H. Mickey
2 William Rhea July 10, 1903 Herman Zahn
3 Harrison Clark December 13, 1907 Ed Flury George L. Sheldon
4 Frank Barker January 17, 1908 Daniel and Alice Barker (his brother and sister in law)
5 Robert M. Shumway March 5, 1909 Sarah Martin Ashton C. Shallenberger
6 Bert M. Taylor January 28, 1910 Pearl Taylor (sister in law)
7 Thomas Johnson May 19, 1911 Henry R. Frankland Chester H. Aldrich
8 Albert Prince March 21, 1913 Nebraska State Penitentiary Deputy Warden Edward D.Davis John H. Morehead
9 Allen V. GrammerA December 20, 1920 Electrocution Lulu Vogt (Allen Grammer's mother in law) Samuel R. McKelvie
10 Alson B. ColeA
11 James B. King June 9, 1922 Nebraska State Penitentiary prison guard Robert L. Taylor
12 Walter R. Simmons August 11, 1925 Frank Pahl Adam McMullen
13 Henry E. Bartlett April 29, 1927 Asa Ranson (Minden, Nebraska Police Chief)
14 Frank Carter June 24, 1927 William McDevitt and Dr. A.D. Searles
15 Frank E. Sharp October 19, 1928 Hariet Sharp (his wife)
16 Henry Sherman May 31, 1929 Roger and Hattie Pochon, Eugenie Pochon Arthur J. Weaver
17 Joseph T. MacAvoy March 23, 1945 Anna Milroy Dwight Griswold
18 Timothy Iron Bear December 1, 1948 John W. and Grace Stollar Val Peterson
19 Roland Dean Sundahl April 30, 1952 Bonnie Lou Merrill
20 Charles StarkweatherB June 25, 1959 Robert Jensen Ralph G. Brooks
A A Allen Grammer and Alson Cole were the first men electrocuted, and the only double electrocution in Nebraska. Allen Grammer was the first man to be electrocuted by the State of Nebraska, pronounced dead at 3:24 pm. Alson Cole was pronounced dead at 3:37 pm.
B Although Charles Starkweather murdered 10 people in Nebraska (and one in Wyoming), he was tried, convicted, and executed for only one murder, that of 17-year-old Robert Jensen.

After 1976

Four people convicted of murder have been executed by Nebraska since 1976.[2] Three were executed by electrocution. On April 21, 2011, the Nebraska Supreme Court set the first execution date via lethal injection for June 14, 2011. On May 26, 2011, the Nebraska Supreme Court stayed the execution due to objections that the sodium thiopental that Nebraska purchased from a Mumbai company failed to comply with U.S. pharmaceutical standards. The state's first lethal injection was carried out on August 14, 2018.[3]

No. Name Race Age Sex Date of execution Method Victim(s) Governor
1 Harold Lamont "Wili" Otey Black 43 M September 2, 1994 Electrocution Jane McManus Ben Nelson
2 John Joseph Joubert A White 33 M July 17, 1996 Danny Eberle and Christopher Walden
3 Robert E. Williams B [4][5] Black 61 M December 2, 1997 Catherine Brooks and Patricia McGarry
4 Carey Dean Moore White 60 M August 14, 2018 Lethal injection Maynard D. Helgeland and Reuel Eugene Van Ness Jr. Pete Ricketts
A John Joubert was also tried and convicted of murdering Ricky Stetson in Portland, Maine. He received a life sentence in Maine.
B Robert E. Williams also murdered Virginia Rowe of Sioux Rapids, Iowa.[5]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ "The Execution of Cyrus Tator," NorthOmahaHistory.com.
  2. ^ "Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "NDCS carries out execution of Carey Dean Moore | NDCS - Nebraska Department of Correctional Services". corrections.nebraska.gov. Lincoln, Nebraska. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ^ Inmate Details: 31861 -- Robert Williams. Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
  5. ^ a b Matthew Waite (3 December 1997). "Williams marks state's third electrocution". Daily Nebraskan. Archived from the original on 27 Oct 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
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