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State And Federal Info

Alaska

Famous Cases

Nelson Charles, an Alaskan Native, was the first person executed in Juneau. He was hanged in 1939 for murdering his mother-in-law, and was the only man hanged in Alaska for the murder of a woman. Read a full description of the Charles case here.

Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement

The abolition measure passed by the Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1957 stated simply: “The death penalty is and shall hereafter be abolished as punishment in Alaska for the commission of any crime.”

Other Interesting Facts

Alaska as a state has never had a death penalty. The Territorial Legislature abolished capital punishment two years before Alaska gained statehood.

Prior to 1899, miner’s courts handled legal matters in Alaska. Seven people are estimated to have been executed under that system.

There were only eight legal executions in Alaska between 1900 and 1957. Two of the men hanged were white, three were Alaska Natives, two were black and one was an immigrant from Montenegro. Records before 1900 are poor, but it is believed that a total of seven persons were hanged in territorial Alaska from 1869 to 1900.

Wrangell Saint Elias National Park. Photo by Maggie Louden.
Wrangell Saint Elias National Park. Photo by Maggie Louden.

Resources

  • Department of Corrections
  • Prosecutors
  • Public Defender’s office
  • Alaskans Against the Death Penalty
  • Victims’ services
  • University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center: Focus on the Death Penalty (archived)

News & Developments


Arbitrariness

May 16, 2018

Prosecutors Withdraw Death Penalty, Agree to Guilty Pleas in Two High Profile Cases With Multiple Victims

State and fed­er­al pros­e­cu­tors have agreed to with­draw the death penal­ty in exchange for guilty pleas by defen­dants charged with mul­ti­ple killings in two unre­lat­ed high-pro­file mur­der cas­es. On May 4, Lake County, Indiana

Prosecutors Withdraw Death Penalty, Agree to Guilty Pleas in Two High Profile Cases With Multiple Victims

History of the Death Penalty

Oct 16, 2014

NEW RESOURCES: Podcast Series on Each State’s Death Penalty

DPIC has recent­ly added four pod­casts to our new series on impor­tant facts about the death penal­ty in each state. Seven state pod­casts are now avail­able: Michigan, 

NEW RESOURCES: Podcast Series on Each State's Death Penalty

History of the Death Penalty

Aug 11, 2011

NEW RESOURCES: Five New States Added to State Information Pages

DPIC is pleased to announce the addi­tion of five more states to one of our lat­est resources, the State Information Pages. Adding to the orig­i­nal 15 state pages made avail­able ear­li­er, pages for 

NEW RESOURCES: Five New States Added to State Information Pages

Arbitrariness

Jan 24, 2011

STUDIES: USA Today Investigation Reveals Prosecutorial Misconduct in Federal Cases

An in-depth inves­ti­ga­tion con­duct­ed by USA Today found 201 crim­i­nal cas­es in which fed­er­al judges deter­mined that U.S. Department of Justice pros­e­cu­tors vio­lat­ed laws or ethics rules, includ­ing the recent…

STUDIES: USA Today Investigation Reveals Prosecutorial Misconduct in Federal Cases
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: No
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 0
  • Number of Executions before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 12
  • Current Death Row Population: N/A
  • Women on Death Row: 0
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 0
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 0
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): N/A
  • Date of Abolition: 1957
  • Location of Death Row/Executions: N/A
  • Capital: Juneau
  • Region: West
  • Population: 733,391*
  • Murder Rate: 7.3
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: N/A
  • Clemency Process: N/A
  • Governor: Mike Dunleavy

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