List of people executed in Nebraska

Last updated February 20, 2026

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

Post-Gregg

Four people convicted of murder have been executed by Nebraska since 1976.^[1] 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.^[2]

No.	Name	Race	Age	Sex	Date of execution	County	Method	Victim(s)	Governor
1	Harold Lamont Otey	Black	43	M	September 2, 1994	Douglas	Electrocution	Jane McManus	Ben Nelson
2	John Joseph Joubert	White	33	M	July 17, 1996	Sarpy		Danny Eberle and Christopher Walden^[a]
3	Robert E. Williams	Black	61	M	December 2, 1997	Lancaster		Catherine Brooks and Patricia McGarry^[b]
4	Carey Dean Moore	White	60	M	August 14, 2018	Douglas	Lethal injection	Maynard D. Helgeland and Reuel Eugene Van Ness Jr.	Pete Ricketts

Demographics

Race
Black	2	50%
White	2	50%
Age
30–39	1	25%
40–49	1	25%
50–59	0	0%
60–69	2	50%
Sex
Male	4	100%
Date of execution
1976–1979	0	0%
1980–1989	0	0%
1990–1999	3	75%
2000–2009	0	0%
2010–2019	1	25%
2020–2029	0	0%
Method
Electrocution	3	75%
Lethal injection	1	25%
Governor (Party)
J. James Exon (D)	0	0%
Charles Thone (R)	0	0%
Bob Kerrey (D)	0	0%
Kay A. Orr (R)	0	0%
Ben Nelson (D)	3	75%
Mike Johanns (R)	0	0%
Dave Heineman (R)	0	0%
Pete Ricketts (R)	1	25%
Jim Pillen (R)	0	0%
Total	4	100%

Pre-Furman

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.^[5] Before 1903, counties carried out executions until the state took over. Since Nebraska statehood in 1867, a total of 14 people have been executed.

Name	Race	Age	Date of execution	Method	Crime	Victims	Under Governor
Stephen D. Richards	White	23	April 26, 1879	Hanging	Murder	Peter Anderson and Harlson family	Silas Garber
Orlando Caslar	White	32	May 20, 1879			George L. Monroe	Albinus Nance
Milton W. Smith	White		July 24, 1885			His wife (name unknown)	James W. Dawes
Jim Reynolds	White		May 21, 1886			James and John Pinkston	James W. Dawes
William Jackson Marion	White		March 25, 1887			John Cameron^[c]	John Milton Thayer
David Hoffman	White		July 22, 1887			James B. DeWitt
Albert Haunstine	White		May 17, 1891			Hiram Roten and William Ashley
Christian Furst^[d]	White		June 5, 1891			Carl J. Pulsifer
Charles Shepherd^[d]	White		June 5, 1891			Carl J. Pulsifer
Ed Neil			October 9, 1891			Allen and Dorothy Jones
Clinton E. Dixon^[e]			June 24, 1892			Corporal Thomas Carter	James E. Boyd
Harry Hill	White		March 1, 1895			Mattes Akeson	Silas A. Holcomb
Claude H. Hoover			August 7, 1896			Samual DuBois
George W. Morgan			October 8, 1897			Ida Gaskill

1903–1972

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

Name	Race	Age	Date of execution	Method	Crime	Victims	Under Governor
Gottlieb Neigenfiend	White	28	March 13, 1903	Hanging	Murder	Anna Bryer and Albert Bryer (ex-wife and ex-father in law)	John H. Mickey
William Rhea	White	20	July 10, 1903		Murder-Robbery	Herman Wilhelm F. Zahn, 34, white	John H. Mickey
Harrison Clark	Black		December 13, 1907		Murder-Robbery	Edward Flury, 47/48, white	George L. Sheldon
Frank Barker	White		January 17, 1908		Murder	Daniel and Alice Barker (his brother and sister in law)	George L. Sheldon
Robert M. Shumway	White		March 5, 1909		Murder-Rape	Sarah E. Martin, 62, white	Ashton C. Shallenberger
Bert M. Taylor	White	38	January 28, 1910		Murder-Rape	Pearl Florence Taylor, 17^[f], white (niece)^[g]	Ashton C. Shallenberger
Thomas Johnson	Black		May 19, 1911		Murder-Robbery	Henry R. Frankland	Chester H. Aldrich
Albert Prince	Black	28	March 21, 1913		Murder	Edward D. Davis, 63, white (deputy warden)	John H. Morehead
Allen V. Grammer^[h]	White	24	December 20, 1920	Electrocution	Murder	Lulu Vogt (Allen Grammer's mother in law)	Samuel R. McKelvie
Alson B. Cole^[h]	White	24	December 20, 1920		Murder	Lulu Vogt (Allen Grammer's mother in law)
James B. King	Black	33	June 9, 1922		Murder	Robert L. Taylor, 54, white (guard)
Walter R. Simmons	White	27	August 11, 1925		Murder-Robbery	Frank Herman Pahl, 47/48, white	Adam McMullen
Henry E. Bartlett	White	37	April 29, 1927		Murder	Asa Ranson (Minden, Nebraska Police Chief)
Frank Carter	White	49	June 24, 1927		Murder	William McDevitt and Dr. A.D. Searles
Frank E. Sharp	White	51	October 19, 1928		Murder	Amanda Harriet Ostblom Sharp, 46, white (wife)
Henry J. Sherman	White	21	May 31, 1929		Murder-Rape	Three people, white^[i]	Arthur J. Weaver
Joseph T. MacAvoy	White	25	March 23, 1945		Murder-Rape	Anna Milroy, 16, white	Dwight Griswold
Timothy Iron Bear	Native American	24	December 1, 1948		Murder-Robbery	John Wiley Stollar and Grace B. Stollar, 59, and 60, white	Val Peterson
Roland Dean Sundahl	White	21	April 30, 1952		Murder-Attempted rape	Bonnie Lou Merrill, 16, white	Val Peterson
Charles Starkweather	White	20	June 25, 1959		Murder	Robert Jensen, 17, white^[j]	Ralph G. Brooks

Notes

↑ John Joubert was also tried and convicted of murdering Ricky Stetson in Portland, Maine. He received a life sentence in Maine.
↑ Robert E. Williams also murdered Virginia Rowe of Sioux Rapids, Iowa.^[3]^[4]
↑ Marion's uncle claimed that he saw Cameron alive in 1891, but produced no evidence to substantiate his claim. Marion received a posthumous pardon by Nebraska Governor Bob Kerrey on the 100th anniversary of his execution. In its decision, the Nebraska Board of Pardons said it made no determination about whether Marion was guilty or innocent.
1 2 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.
↑ 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.
↑ Taylor was 16 when she was fatally injured, but 17 when she died.
↑ Also raped and attempted to murder Pearl's younger sister, Ida Taylor.
1 2 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 p.m. Alson Cole was pronounced dead at 3:37 p.m.
↑ Roger Pochon, 35, Hattie Pochon, 36, and Eugenie Pochon, 66. Sherman raped the 14-year-old daughter of Roger and Hattie Pochon, Nellie Pochon.
↑ 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.

References

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

External links

Nebraska executions

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[3] John Joubert was also tried and convicted of murdering Ricky Stetson in Portland, Maine. He received a life sentence in Maine.

[6] Robert E. Williams also murdered Virginia Rowe of Sioux Rapids, Iowa.^[3]^[4]

[8] Marion's uncle claimed that he saw Cameron alive in 1891, but produced no evidence to substantiate his claim. Marion received a posthumous pardon by Nebraska Governor Bob Kerrey on the 100th anniversary of his execution. In its decision, the Nebraska Board of Pardons said it made no determination about whether Marion was guilty or innocent.

[fn1-9] 1 2 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.

[10] 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.

[11] Taylor was 16 when she was fatally injured, but 17 when she died.

[12] Also raped and attempted to murder Pearl's younger sister, Ida Taylor.

[fn2-13] 1 2 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 p.m. Alson Cole was pronounced dead at 3:37 p.m.

[14] Roger Pochon, 35, Hattie Pochon, 36, and Eugenie Pochon, 66. Sherman raped the 14-year-old daughter of Roger and Hattie Pochon, Nellie Pochon.

[15] 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.

[dpic-1] "Execution Database". Death Penalty Information Center . Retrieved June 7, 2023.

[2] "NDCS carries out execution of Carey Dean Moore | NDCS - Nebraska Department of Correctional Services". corrections.nebraska.gov. Lincoln, Nebraska. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.

[4] "Inmate Details: 31861 -- Robert Williams". Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Retrieved August 17, 2007.

[waite-5] Matthew Waite (December 3, 1997). "Williams marks state's third electrocution". Daily Nebraskan. Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2014.

[7] "The Execution of Cyrus Tator," NorthOmahaHistory.com.

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v t e Capital punishment in the United States
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