Native Americans
Native Americans on Death Row
As of April 2022, 24 individuals identified as Native American were on death rows across the country. The number was down from 26 on January 1, 2017. Eight states and the federal government hold condemned Indian prisoners. As of April 1, 2022, 17 Native Americans have been executed since 1976, accounting for 1% of all executions in the United States. Fourteen Indian prisoners have been executed for killing whites, and three for killing other Native Americans. Native Americans have been victims in 7 cases that have resulted in execution, comprising one-third of one percent of the victims in cases that have resulted in executions. Between 1979-1999, whites killed 32% of the 2,469 Indians murdered, whereas Native Americans killed 1% of the 164,377 whites murdered.
Native Americans Executed in the United States Since the 1970s
Number, Race, and Sex of Victims |
State/Federal |
County/Federal District |
|||||||
03/03/1993 |
39 |
Male |
1 White Male |
Delaware |
New Castle County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
Yes |
|
07/31/1996 |
55 |
Male |
1 White Female |
Missouri |
St. Charles County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
05/08/1997 |
22 |
Male |
1 White Male |
Oklahoma |
McIntosh County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
Yes |
|
07/29/1997 |
35 |
Male |
1 White Female |
Texas |
Harris County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
03/31/1998 |
40 |
Male |
1 White Female |
Florida |
Marion County |
Electrocution |
No |
No |
|
01/07/1999 |
37 |
Male |
1 White Female |
Oklahoma |
Kay County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
02/03/1999 |
38 |
Male |
1 White Male |
Arizona |
Maricopa County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
10/28/1999 |
31 |
Male |
1 White Female |
Texas |
Dallas County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
03/15/2000 |
45 |
Male |
3 White Females |
California |
Yolo County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
06/01/2000 |
51 |
Male |
1 White Female |
Oklahoma |
Oklahoma County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
01/18/2001 |
31 |
Male |
1 Latino Male |
Oklahoma |
Oklahoma County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
05/22/2001 |
41 |
Male |
1 White Male |
Oklahoma |
Muskogee County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
07/17/2001 |
40 |
Male |
1 Native American Female |
Oklahoma |
Seminole County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
09/12/2003 |
58 |
Male |
2 Native American Males |
North Carolina |
Robeson County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
01/17/2006 |
76 |
Male |
2 White Males |
California |
Glenn County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
10/26/2010 |
50 |
Male |
1 White Male |
Arizona |
Maricopa County |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
08/26/2020 |
38 |
Male |
2 Native American Females |
Federal |
District of Arizona |
Lethal Injection |
No |
No |
|
5/11/2022 | Clarence Dixon | 66 | Male | 1 White Female | Arizona | Pinal County | Lethal Injection | No | No |
Sources
- David V. Baker, American Indian Executions in Historical Context, Criminal Justice Studies, 20:4, 315 – 373 (2007).
- Death Row USA: A quarterly report by the criminal justice project of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (through April 1, 2022)
- S. Perry, American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992 – 2002, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2004).