List of people executed in Michigan

The following is a list of people executed by the U.S. state of Michigan; which abolished the death penalty in 1847. No executions have been carried out under the authority of the state of Michigan. The one person executed after 1847 was executed by the United States strictly within federal jurisdiction. Thus, it was not performed within the legal boundaries of Michigan as a matter of law.

French and British colonial periods

Name	Date of execution	Crime	Method	Race
French jurisdiction
Folle-Avoine	November 29, 1683	Murder	Shot	Native American
Unknown ^[1]	November 29, 1683	Murder	Shot	Native American
Pierre Berge (or Boucher) dit La Tulipe	November 26, 1705	Assault	Hanging (in Montreal)^[2]	White
Bartellemy Pichon dit La Roze	November 7, 1707	Desertion	Hanging^[3]	White
British jurisdiction
Unknown female slave (whose owner's name was Clapham)	April 1763	Murder	Hanging	Native American
Michael Dué	late 1760s	Murder	Hanging^[4]	White
Joseph Hecker	December 1775	Murder	Hanging^[5]	White
Jean Baptiste Contincineau	March 26, 1777	Burglary	Hanging^[6]	White
Ann Wyley	March 26, 1777	Burglary	Hanging^[6]	Black

Under U.S. jurisdiction (Michigan Territory)

Name	Date of execution	Crime	Method	Race
Buhnah	1819	Murder	Unknown method	Native American
Ketauka	December 27, 1821	Murder	Hanging^[7]	Native American
Kewaubis	December 27, 1821	Murder	Hanging^[7]	Native American
James Brown	February 1, 1830	Murder	Hanging	White
Stephen Simmons^[8]^[9]	September 24, 1830	Murder	Hanging^[10]	White
Wau-Bau-Ne-Me-Mee	July 1836	Murder	Hanging	Native American

Federal executions in Michigan

Only one person has been executed by the United States for a federal crime committed in Michigan. The execution was carried out at Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, in York Charter Township near the Village of Milan.

Name	Date of execution	Crime	Method	Race
Anthony Chebatoris	July 8, 1938	Murder	Hanging	White

As a matter of jurisdictional law, this execution did not take place in Michigan per se because it was carried out by the United States government at a US government-owned facility, located in but not subject to the State of Michigan's jurisdiction.

References

"ESPYstate.pdf-pages 166–167" (PDF). (1.67 MB)

Notes

^ Next youngest brother of Folle-Avoine (Wild Oats). Achiganaga and his four sons, of the Ojibwe nation, were arrested for the murder of two French traders. The brothers swore their father was not involved and the French determined only 3 of the 4 brothers were guilty. Since two Frenchmen were killed, they decided to only execute two of the brothers. Warren, William Whipple; Neill, Edward Duffield (1885). History of the Ojibway Nation . Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 421–425 – via Wikisource.
^ See Burton p. 164; Tulipe was a drummer in the company of Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac who assaulted a 12-year-old girl. He was convicted and executed in Quebec.
^ See Burton pp. 164–165
^ See Burton p. 142; Dué was arrested for murdering a man in Detroit and was tried, convicted and executed in Montreal.
^ See Caitlin p. 68. Burton p. 194 mentions the execution of a person named "Ellers" in December 1775.
^ ^a ^b See Burton pp. 193–195 for an account of Contincineau's trial. The presiding judge Philip Dejean was subsequently indicted for the murder of Contincineau. According to the account in Burton, Contincineau's accomplice, the slave woman Ann Wyley, was freed by Dejean on the condition that she act as executioner on Contincineau. Caitlin p. 68 notes that Dejean later went back on his offer and had Wiley hanged.
^ ^a ^b See Caitlin p. 262 for a description of the execution of Ketauka and Kewaubis
^ David G. Chardavoyne>A Hanging in Detroit: Stephen Gifford Simmons and the Last Execution Under Michigan Law
^ Robert M. Bohm Deathquest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment 2011 1437734936 Page 9 "Two of the latter three executed were Native Americans, and both were executed in 1821. The other, Stephen Simmons, was executed in 1830, 7 years before Michigan gained statehood. Simmons in a drunken rage killed his wife in Detroit."
^ For a detailed account of Simmons' execution, see Caitlin "Michigan's Last Infliction of Capital Punishment" pp. 289–293

[1] Next youngest brother of Folle-Avoine (Wild Oats). Achiganaga and his four sons, of the Ojibwe nation, were arrested for the murder of two French traders. The brothers swore their father was not involved and the French determined only 3 of the 4 brothers were guilty. Since two Frenchmen were killed, they decided to only execute two of the brothers. Warren, William Whipple; Neill, Edward Duffield (1885). History of the Ojibway Nation . Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 421–425 – via Wikisource.

[2] See Burton p. 164; Tulipe was a drummer in the company of Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac who assaulted a 12-year-old girl. He was convicted and executed in Quebec.

[3] See Burton pp. 164–165

[4] See Burton p. 142; Dué was arrested for murdering a man in Detroit and was tried, convicted and executed in Montreal.

[5] See Caitlin p. 68. Burton p. 194 mentions the execution of a person named "Ellers" in December 1775.

[Contincineau-6] See Burton pp. 193–195 for an account of Contincineau's trial. The presiding judge Philip Dejean was subsequently indicted for the murder of Contincineau. According to the account in Burton, Contincineau's accomplice, the slave woman Ann Wyley, was freed by Dejean on the condition that she act as executioner on Contincineau. Caitlin p. 68 notes that Dejean later went back on his offer and had Wiley hanged.

[K&K-7] See Caitlin p. 262 for a description of the execution of Ketauka and Kewaubis

[8] David G. Chardavoyne>A Hanging in Detroit: Stephen Gifford Simmons and the Last Execution Under Michigan Law

[9] Robert M. Bohm Deathquest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment 2011 1437734936 Page 9 "Two of the latter three executed were Native Americans, and both were executed in 1821. The other, Stephen Simmons, was executed in 1830, 7 years before Michigan gained statehood. Simmons in a drunken rage killed his wife in Detroit."

[10] For a detailed account of Simmons' execution, see Caitlin "Michigan's Last Infliction of Capital Punishment" pp. 289–293

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v t e Capital punishment in the United States
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