Wild West Hangings and Lynchings

Copyright 2019 by Gary L. Pullman

Hanging of " Black Jack" Ketchum

The website Legends of America lists almost 200 outlaws who were hanged during the days of the Wild West*; of this number, over 90 were lynched. The website provides details for the hanged (or lynched) men. For example, concerning Joseph Allen and his accomplices, Legends of America states that Joseph Allen (18??-1909) was—

A gunfighter who was involved in a bitter feud in Ada, Oklahoma, was later arrested for the murder of Gus Bobbitt. On April 19, 1909, a vigilante mob of 150-200 men stormed the jail, and dragged out Allen, along with Jim Miller, Jesse West, and D. B. Burrell. The four were hanged in an abandoned barn behind the jail.

In regard to Patricio Maes, a lynching victim, the website states that Eugenio Alarid,

a crooked lawman and outlaw, Alarid was a member of the Las Vegas, New Mexico police force and a member of Vicente Silva’s White Caps Gang. At the request of Silva, Alarid, along with to more crooked lawmen, Jose Chavez y Chavez, and Julian Trujillo lynched Patricio Maes on October 22, 1892. All three men were eventually arrested for the murder of Maes and sentenced to life in prison.

Legends of America also features “full articles” concerning several hanged or lynched men, including “James Averell—Unjustly Hanged,” “Henry Newton Brown—Robbing the Ameican West,” “Cattle Kate—Mystery of a Lynching,” “Outlaw William Coe & His Missing Loot,” “John Heath and the Bisbee Massacre,” “Thomas 'Black Jack' Ketchum—Unjustly Hanged” and “The Lynching of 'Big Steve' Long,” among others.

Black Jack Ketchum's hanging results in his decapitation

Although Washington and New Hampshire still use hanging as their means of execution, no hanging has occurred in the United States since 1996. Lynching continued in the United States until as late as 1968, with African Americans the victims, rather than outlaws, the victims.

Note: For the purpose of this article, the map below delineates the American Wild West: