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due to the passage of a law limiting the application of the death penalty in the state; the law was passed in 1868 and repealed in 1883.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.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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

• Capital punishment in Minnesota

Notes

1. 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

1. "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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. "Minnesota: History of the Death Penalty". Death Penalty Information Center . Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
5. Cartwright, R. L. (January 30, 2023). "Execution of William Williams". MNopedia. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
6. "Minnesota Executions". Before the Needles. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
7. "The Trials & Hanging". The US-Dakota War of 1862. Archived from the original on January 9, 2025. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
8. "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.