Why hasn’t Alaska executed anyone since statehood? Juneau’s last hangings may be the reason.

Headlines from Alaska newspapers successful nan precocious 1940s covering nan tests of Austin Nelson and Eugene LaMoore. (Library of Congress/KTOO)

When Mary Lou Spartz was a elder astatine Juneau High School successful 1948, she says she could perceive nan sounds of building astatine nan national jailhouse a artifact distant from her schoolroom connected 5th and Main Street. 

“We didn’t talk astir it,” Spartz said. “But you’d beryllium successful people and you’d perceive nan pounding connected that building, and you couldn’t thief but notice.” 

Spartz said erstwhile nan execution proceedings was each complete nan news she didn’t deliberation overmuch astir it. But erstwhile preparations started astatine nan national jailhouse — wherever nan State Office building is coming — it began to problem her. She said she knew it was for an execution. 

In 1948 and 1950, Juneau executed 2 Black men — Austin Nelson and Eugene LaMoore — for nan execution of a section grocer. The trials, according to a ineligible historiographer who has researched them for decades, were riddled pinch misconduct and errors. 

Seven years aft nan 2nd execution, Alaska’s Territorial Legislature abolished nan decease penalty. At nan time, 1 of nan legislators starring nan abolition activity pointed retired that superior reward had been utilized almost exclusively against Black and Alaska Native people.

Now, Spartz is 93 years old. She lives conscionable connected nan different broadside of Telephone Hill from her aged precocious schoolhouse classroom. She still recalls really her teachers and parents would debar talking astir nan execution and she was near to tie her ain conclusions. 

“All of a sudden, it benignant of occurred to you that this was going to beryllium taking nan life of different person. I don’t deliberation we thought of it that way. But location was thing going connected location that didn’t look right,” Spartz said. “Didn’t look correct astatine all.”

Two men sentenced to death

On a December greeting successful 1946, grocer Jim Ellen was recovered dormant successful his shop connected Willoughby Avenue pinch his pharynx cut. Nelson, who had lived successful Juneau for respective years moving overseas jobs astir town, was arrested nan adjacent time and charged pinch nan murder.

In April 1947, a assemblage convicted Nelson of nan execution and sentenced him to death. His lawyers ne'er revenge an appeal.

A 2nd man would besides beryllium convicted for nan execution 10 months later. At Nelson’s trial, LaMoore took nan guidelines to connection an alibi. He said he was pinch Nelson for immoderate of nan nighttime and saw him on-and-off during nan clip erstwhile Nelson was accused of having committed nan murder.  

After LaMoore’s testimony, prosecutors believed that LaMoore must person been progressive pinch nan execution arsenic well. They charged him pinch perjury, and put him successful jail, for nan intent of collecting capable grounds to complaint him pinch murder. In 1948, different assemblage convicted LaMoore and sentenced him to decease arsenic well.

The Federal Jail successful Juneau. Taken successful April 1948. (Alaska State Library ASL-P417-071)

‘The work to correct nan record’

“LaMoore wasn’t charged until he had nan audacity to effort and attest connected behalf of Nelson, astatine Nelson’s trial,” says Averil Lerman, a legal historian who has researched nan 2 cases complete nan past 30 years. Sheʼs presently penning a book astir these cases. 

She said nan executions of Nelson and LaMoore fresh a broader shape successful Alaskaʼs history of superior punishment. Nationally, nan decease punishment has been applied disproportionately based on race, poverty and entree to ineligible representation. Those factors, Lerman says, person much to do pinch whether a suspect gets nan decease condemnation than nan severity of nan crime committed aliases nan evidence. 

Her investigation showed nan aforesaid patterns held existent successful Alaska. 

“The reply was beautiful overwhelmingly clear,” she said. “After 1903, nan only group who were executed successful nan territory of Alaska were group who were not achromatic — aliases group who were viewed arsenic not achromatic by nan ascendant achromatic majority.” 

Lerman worked successful criminal rule for 20 years and arsenic a post-conviction criminal defense lawyer, examining cases aft nan suspect received a blameworthy verdict to spot if nan condemnation had been obtained legally and justly. 

“A aesculapian examiner is personification who examines nan remains of a personification to find nan origin of decease and nan instrumentality of death,” she said. “I’m benignant of for illustration a ineligible examiner who tin look astatine a condemnation and nan surrounding accusation and fig retired whether nan condemnation was astir apt righteous aliases not.”

And successful nan post-mortem of Nelsonʼs and LaMooreʼs cases, astir 50 years later, Lerman recovered a proceedings transcript that has stuck pinch her since. It was nan grounds of LaMoore, nan past personification executed successful Juneau. 

“The transcript that I recovered changed my life, and has tied itself to my ankle for each nan years betwixt now and 1994 erstwhile I recovered it,” she said. “It put a work connected maine that I person not been capable to shake. The work to speak, nan work to correct nan record.”

Lerman said nan justness strategy grounded Nelson and LaMoore astatine astir each turn. 

“There was utmost prosecutorial misconduct successful some of these cases,” she said, arsenic good arsenic superior correction by nan defense and by nan judge.

A retracted confession

The prosecution built their lawsuit without immoderate reliable forensic grounds — for illustration blood, hairsbreadth aliases fingerprints — successful either trial. There was grounds successful Nelson’s proceedings regarding blood, but it was inconclusive, a truth that was admitted by a witnesser successful a written study to nan prosecutor, but papered complete by nan witnesser astatine trial. There was nary specified grounds astatine each introduced against LaMoore. Lerman says that instead, nan prosecution relied connected grounds from group who were put nether unit to show a definite story.

“Much of nan prosecutionʼs proceedings grounds successful some of these tests was obtained by either taking advantage of either witnesses who were successful terribly susceptible positions to guarantee that they said what nan charismatic wanted them to opportunity aliases by placing them successful incredibly susceptible positions successful bid to unafraid that testimony,” she said. 

The only beingness grounds that tied Nelson to nan crime was a cheque connected nan shop antagonistic pinch Nelson’s sanction connected it, dated 5 days earlier.

At Nelson’s proceedings successful 1947, nan prosecution had 1 eyewitness: Dolly Silvers, who was held successful nan metropolis jailhouse for a period truthful she would attest against Nelson, Lerman said. Silvers told nan assemblage she saw Nelson leaving Ellen’s shop aft 2 o’clock successful nan morning, by himself. 

After Nelson’s trial, LaMoore was charged pinch perjury because he didn’t initially admit to a 20-year-old felony successful nan authorities of California, moreover though he corrected that grounds to nan jury. Using that charge, he was kept successful jailhouse and successful solitary confinement for months, during which he was many times interrogated without appointed counsel.

Then, connected June 30, 1947 — nan time earlier Nelson was owed to beryllium executed — Nelson told investigators that LaMoore was pinch him during nan crime. Federal investigators brought Nelson to LaMooreʼs compartment that day. Nelson apologized to LaMoore for implicating him and begged LaMoore to thief prevention his life. 

The adjacent day, LaMoore signed a typed confession. It said he went pinch Nelson to rob nan store, and that LaMoore was successful a different room erstwhile Nelson killed Ellen. The connection said LaMoore only recovered retired astir Ellen’s sidesplitting afterward, erstwhile he and Nelson near nan store.

The prosecuting lawyer revenge for a enactment of execution for Nelson that read, “it would beryllium intolerable to beryllium a execution complaint against LaMoore without nan grounds of said Austin Nelson.”

The national jailhouse successful Juneau being demolished. (Alaska State Library ASL-P258)

At his trial, successful April 1948, LaMoore testified that nan “confession” he had signed was false, and that it had been made successful bid to effort to prevention Nelson’s life. LaMoore said that Nelson had been framed and that he believed that could beryllium proved. 

“To springiness nan man a chance to beryllium he was illegally prosecuted. He asked maine to thief him prevention his life,” LaMoore said connected nan witnesser guidelines erstwhile asked why he signed nan confession.

Lerman says LaMoore’s confession doesnʼt statement up pinch nan grounds — aliases moreover pinch nan communicative nan prosecution told during Nelsonʼs proceedings astir really nan execution took place. 

The confession said nan execution occurred astir 12:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Dolly Silvers repeated that she had seen Nelson entering and leaving nan shop overmuch later, aft 2 a.m. 

Lerman said nan prosecutors, nan judge, and nan investigators each apt knew nan communicative didnʼt statement up, but they wanted a condemnation for nan murder.

“The cases show that nan convictions were obtained by salient men who were wished to get that result,” she said.  Lerman says that LaMoore’s confession was obtained done coercion and should person been thrown retired by nan judge.

After a three-day trial, a assemblage convicted LaMoore of execution and sentenced him to death. A fewer weeks aft LaMoore’s conviction, Nelson was hanged connected March 1, 1948. LaMoore’s attorneys revenge for an appeal, but it was rejected. LaMoore was hanged astatine nan national jailhouse connected April 14, 1950. 

Alaska abolishes nan decease penalty

No 1 has been executed by nan authorities successful Alaska since. 

Lerman says that’s apt successful portion because of Nelson and LaMoore. Their tests and executions changed nan nationalist cognition of nan decease punishment successful Alaska arsenic its leaders began to style nan caller state’s laws.

“The men who suffered this destiny changed history,” she said.  

Warren Taylor was a personnel of nan Territorial Legislature of Alaska successful 1957. He and legislator Vic Fischer helped constitute nan constitution for nan territory, which was done to show nan national authorities that Alaska was fresh for statehood. 

Taylor asked Fischer if he wanted to co-sponsor a measure abolishing nan decease penalty, according to Fischer’s 2012 autobiography To Russia pinch Love: An Alaskan’s Journey.

“When nan clip came, Warren roseate and gave nan top reside I ever heard successful nan Legislature,” Fischer wrote. “He went done nan history of nan decease punishment successful Alaska, nan 8 men hung, only 2 of whom were achromatic Americans, though astir murders were committed by whites. He related nan shoddy grounds and procedures that sent nan men to death, successful cases that nary assemblage would convict today.”

Taylor addressed nan disparities of nan decease punishment during nan bill’s hearings. 

“[The decease penalty] now only falls connected immoderate poor, unfortunate, ignorant, bum individual who was hornswoggled from nan clip he gets into court,” Taylor testified successful 1957, nan Fairbanks News Miner reported.

The Territorial Legislature voted to prohibition execution successful 1957, 2 years earlier statehood. 

Have things changed?

In nan 1990s, nan authorities Legislature considered respective bills to reinstate nan decease penalty. It wasn’t nan first clip Alaska lawmakers introduced decease punishment bills, but that’s erstwhile Lerman began studying nan state’s history of superior reward pinch nan defense group Alaskans Against nan Death Penalty.

She says that often erstwhile horrible crimes are committed, nan organization wants to spot reward and revenge, but those things aren’t nan aforesaid arsenic justice.

“Vengeance and justness are ne'er going to beryllium recovered successful nan aforesaid bed, by definition,” she said. 

When nan justness strategy looks for personification to blame, nan astir susceptible group often return nan fall, she said. 

Juneau’s only different charismatic execution happened successful 1939. An Indigenous man surviving successful Ketchikan named Nelson Charles was convicted of sidesplitting his mother-in-law. He claimed work for her decease aft stabbing her.

But Charles, Nelson and LaMoore were not nan only group convicted of homicide successful Juneau. White men who committed execution seldom faced nan aforesaid fate. 

“Between 1939 erstwhile Nelson Charles was hanged, and 1950 erstwhile LaMoore was hanged, location were galore different homicides successful Juneau and Southeast Alaska. None of nan different wrongdoers, however, were executed,” Lerman said successful 1995.

One of nan prosecuting attorneys successful nan tests of Nelson and LaMoore, Robert Boochever, besides worked connected nan lawsuit of George Meeks, a achromatic man who was convicted of sidesplitting a building worker successful 1948. He was sentenced to life successful prison. 

Lerman said to Boochever successful 1995, erstwhile she was researching these trials.

“He stated that he believed that, if George Meeks had been black, he would person been sentenced to bent for illustration Nelson and LaMoore. Instead, he was sent to nan penitentiary,” she wrote.

Nationally, nearly 200 group person been exonerated from decease statement successful nan past 50 years, galore by DNA evidence. While forensic subject has travel a agelong way, Lerman said nan justness strategy still has galore of nan aforesaid problems it did successful nan 1940s, and she doesn’t want to look distant from that. 

“You cannot debar nan truth that group are still getting wrongly convicted each nan clip successful our courts,” she said. 

Since statehood, Alaska has ne'er had a decease penalty, but Lerman says it’s important to retrieve why that is. She’s adjacent to completing her book astir Nelson and LaMoore. She says it specifications nan very quality flaws of nan justness strategy and nan risks of giving it nan powerfulness to kill.