List of people executed in Minnesota
This is a list of people executed in Minnesota as both a territory and a state. Between Minnesota 's first recorded execution in 1854 (which occurred while it was a territory ) and the state's final recorded execution in 1906, there were at least 70 legal executions in Minnesota. All executions in Minnesota were carried out by hanging .
Notably, on December 26, 1862, Minnesota was the site of the largest mass execution in United States history when 38 men, all Dakota men involved in the Dakota War of 1862 , were simultaneously executed by hanging on the same gallows in Mankato, Minnesota , after being convicted of various capital crimes including murder, being an accessory to murder, and kidnapping. The hangings were ordered by a military commission and technically overseen by the federal government.[ 1] [ 2]
Minnesota experienced a 17-year moratorium on executions between 1868 and 1885 due to the passage of a law limiting the application of the death penalty in the state; the law was passed in 1868 and repealed in 1883.[ 3]
Capital punishment in Minnesota was officially abolished on April 22, 1911. No executions have taken place in Minnesota since 1906.[ 4] [ 5]
Information is sourced from the Espy Files unless otherwise specified.[ 6]
The list does not contain extrajudicial executions, murders, or lynchings.
All executions in Minnesota, 1854–1906
No.
Name
Race
Age
Sex
Date of Execution
County
Crime(s)
Ref.
1
Uhazy (or Yuhagu)
Native American
-
M
December 29, 1854
Morrison
Murder
[ 3]
2
Ann Bilansky
White
34
F
March 23, 1860
Waseca
Murder of her husband
[ 4]
3
Henry Kriegler
White
-
M
March 1, 1861
Ramsey
Murder
4
Ti hdo' ni ca
Native American
-
M
December 26, 1862
Blue Earth
Murder, accessory to murder, or kidnapping related to involvement in the Dakota War of 1862
[ 7]
5
Hda Inyan Ka
Native American
-
M
6
Ptan Du ta
Native American
-
M
7
Mahpi'ya A i'na zin
Native American
-
M
8
Hin han'sunko yag mani
Native American
-
M
9
Maza Bo mdu
Native American
-
M
10
Wa hpe Duta
Native American
-
M
11
Wa hi' hna
Native American
-
M
12
Sna Mani
Native American
-
M
13
Oyate' A ku
Native American
-
M
14
Do wan' s'a
Native American
M
15
He pan
Native American
-
M
16
Sun'ka ska
Native American
-
M
17
Am-da-cha
Native American
-
M
18
Tunkan' I ca'hda mani
Native American
-
M
19
I te' Duta
Native American
-
M
20
He pi'da
Native American
-
M
21
Maȟpiya Akan Nažiŋ
Native American
-
M
22
Henry Milford
Native American
-
M
23
Chaska (Dakota: Wičháhpi Waštédaŋpi)
Native American
-
M
24
Baptiste Campbell
Native American
-
M
25
Tate' Kaga
Native American
-
M
26
He In'Kpa
Native American
-
M
27
Hypolite Ange
Native American
-
M
28
Na pe'sni
Native American
-
M
29
Wakan Tanka
Native American
-
M
30
Tunkan' Ko yag Ina'zin
Native American
-
M
31
Maka'ta I na'zin
Native American
-
M
32
Maza Kute' mani
Native American
-
M
33
Tate' Hdi da
Native American
-
M
34
Wasicuƞ
Native American
-
M
35
A i caga
Native American
-
M
36
Ho i'tan in ku
Native American
-
M
37
Ce tan' Hunka'
Native American
-
M
38
Can Ka hda
Native American
-
M
39
Hda' hin hde
Native American
-
M
40
Oyate Ta Wa
Native American
-
M
41
Mahu we hi
Native American
-
M
42
Wa Kin' yan na
Native American
-
M
43
John Campbell
Multiracial
-
May 3, 1865
Blue Earth
Murder of Andrew Jewitt
[ 3]
44
Medicine Bottle
Native American
-
M
November 11, 1865
Hennepin
Murder, accessory to murder, or kidnapping related to involvement in the Dakota War of 1862
[ 3]
45
Shakopee III
Native American
54
M
46
Andreas Roesch
White
-
M
March 6, 1868
Nicollet
Murder
47
John Waisenen
White
-
M
August 28, 1885
St. Louis
Robbery and murder
48
Nels Olsom Holong
White
30
M
April 13, 1888
Otter Tail
Rape, murder, and mutilation of a young woman
[ 3]
49
John Lee
White
-
M
February 15, 1889
Douglas
Murder
50
Timothy Barrett
White
-
M
March 22, 1889
Hennepin
Robbery and murder
51
Peter Barrett
White
17
M
52
Albert Bulow
White
28
M
July 19, 1889
Morrison
Robbery and murder
53
Thomas Brown
White
24
M
September 20, 1889
Clay
Murder
54
William Brooker
White
-
M
June 27, 1890
Pine
Murder
55
William Rose
White
-
M
January 17, 1891
Redwood
Murder
56
Adelbert Goheen
White
20
M
January 23, 1891
Otter Tail
Murder
57
Charles Ermisch
White
19
M
January 19, 1894
Ramsey
Robbery and murder
58
Otto Wonigkeit
White
19
M
January 19, 1894
Ramsey
Robbery and murder
59
Harry T. Hayward
White
29
M
December 11, 1895
Chisago
Murder of Katherine "Kitty" Ging
60
John Pryde
White
-
M
July 23, 1896
Hennepin
Robbery and murder
61
George Kelly
White
32
M
March 23, 1897
Crow Wing
Murder of Dr. Foster[ a]
[ 8]
62
John Moshik
White
25
M
March 18, 1898
Hennepin
Robbery and murder
63
Joseph Ott
White
-
M
October 20, 1898
Yellow Medicine
Murder
64
Franz Wallert
White
-
M
March 29, 1901
Sibley
Murder
65
Andrew Tapper
White
35
M
February 18, 1902
Carver
Murder
66
Charles Henderson
Black
-
M
March 6, 1903
St. Louis
Murder
67
Ole Oleson
White
-
M
March 20, 1903
Aitkin
Murder
68
William Chounard
White
-
M
August 30, 1904
St. Louis
Murder
69
Claud Crawford
White
-
M
December 5, 1905
Aitkin
Robbery and murder
70
William Williams
White
27
M
February 13, 1906
Ramsey
Murder of John Keller and Keller's mother Mary
See also
Notes
^ Kelly also confessed to the murders of Edward Paul and Jacob Hayes, which took place in Wyoming. He was executed for the Minnesota-based murder of Dr. Foster.
References
^ "Governor Walz makes historic apology for 1862 mass hanging in Mankato" . ICT News . Indian Country Today . January 7, 2020. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025 .
^ Bessler, John (March 2004). "The Botched Hanging of William Williams: How Too Much Rope and Minnesota's Newspapers Brought an End to the Death Penalty in Minnesota" . University of Baltimore School of Law Journal – via ScholarWorks.
^ a b c d e Bessler, John D. (1996). "The "Midnight Assassination Law" and Minnesota's Anti-Death Penalty Movement, 1849–1911" . William Mitchell Law Review . 22 (2): 577– 730.
^ a b "Minnesota: History of the Death Penalty" . Death Penalty Information Center . Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025 .
^ Cartwright, R. L. (January 30, 2023). "Execution of William Williams" . MNopedia . Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025 .
^ "Minnesota Executions" . Before the Needles . Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2025 .
^ "The Trials & Hanging" . The US-Dakota War of 1862 . Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025 .
^ "Stern Justice Dealt Out to Murderer George Kelly. Hanged at Center City Shortly After Midnight" . The Saint Paul Globe . March 23, 1897. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
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