James Arcene
James Arcene | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1862 |
| Died | June 18, 1885 (aged 23) Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Robbery and murder (1872) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Escaped | 1872–1885 |
James Arcene (c. 1862 – June 18, 1885) was the youngest person sentenced to death, who was subsequently executed for the crime,[1] in the United States. Arcene, a Cherokee, was hanged by the U.S. federal government in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for his role in a robbery and murder committed thirteen years earlier, when he was allegedly 10 years old.[2]
Arcene and a Cherokee man named William Parchmeal noticed William Feigel, a Swedish national, making a purchase in a store. They followed Feigel when he left, heading for Fort Gibson, and caught up with him about two miles outside of the fort. With robbery as a motive, one of the two shot Feigel six times before crushing his skull with a rock. Arcene and Parchmeal then took a pair of boots and some money off of Feigel's corpse.
Arcene was arrested, tried by jury, and convicted for the robbery and murder of Feigel. Arcene then escaped and eluded capture until he was apprehended and executed, at a time when he claimed he was 23 years old.[1] He and Parchmeal were caught by Deputy Marshal Andrews after the case had been cold for more than ten years. "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker presided over the executions, which were held at Fort Smith.
It is difficult to verify James Arcene's age because there are few surviving census records for Indian Territory in the 1870s and 1880s. Primary documents confirm that, after he was captured, James Arcene claimed to have been a child in 1872 when the crime was committed, and continued to make that claim up through sentencing.[3] Whether Arcene was truly 10 years old at the time of the crime or only alleging such to avoid capital punishment is unknown.
Arcene's case is frequently brought up in discussions of the death penalty for children, and to a lesser degree in discussions of the perceived unfair treatment Native Americans received from the United States government.[2][4][5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Streib, Victor L. Death Penalty for Juveniles. Indiana University Press, 1987. p. 72.
- ^ a b Scott, Charles L., MD. "Roper v. Simmons: Can Juvenile Offenders be Executed?" Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 33:4:547-552 (2005).
- ^ New York Times [www.nytimes.com], "Hanged on the Gallows". The New York Times. June 27, 1885. Accessed June 29, 2011.
- ^ "Questions on the Death Penalty." Amnesty International USA has alleged that the jury's decision to execute Arcene for a crime committed at such a young age was racially motivated. Archived 2008-11-21 at the Wayback Machine Ask Amnesty. AmnestyUSA.org. November 4, 2003.
- ^ James, Joy. States of Confinement: Policing, Detention and Prisons. Macmillan, 2000. ISBN 0-312-21777-3. p. 23.
- 1860s births
- 1885 deaths
- Minors convicted of murder
- Cherokee Nation people (1794–1907)
- American people executed for murder
- American escapees
- 19th-century executions by the United States
- Escapees from United States federal government detention
- People convicted of murder by the United States federal government
- People executed by the United States federal government by hanging
- 19th-century executions of American people
- Juvenile offenders executed by the United States
- 1872 murders in the United States
- 19th-century Native Americans
- Executed Native American people