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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 11 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 18 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 18 |
| 1884 | 13 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 14 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 15 |
| 1889 | 36 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 28 |
| 1892 | 52 |
| 1893 | 46 |
| 1894 | 73 |
| 1895 | 81 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 9 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 26 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1905 | 3 |
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| 1909 | 19 |
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| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 2 |
619 stories matching execution
- First Execution Under New State Law
C.K. Champoux is executed at the state penitentiary for the murder of a Seattle variety singer.
- Extrajudicial Execution in Seattle
Two Snoqualmie men are hanged by members of their own tribe following the death of a white man at Lake Union.
- The Scandal of Washington’s World’s Fair Display
Corruption and petty politics in the state's executive committee leave Washington's resources unrepresented at the Chicago World's Fair.
- The City Charter of 1886
A legislative blueprint defining the duties of Seattle's mayor, council, and police as the growing territory formalizes its municipal rule.
- The Execution of Robert Day
After a failed suicide attempt and legal appeals reaching the State Supreme Court, the murderer of Thomas Clinton Beebe faces the scaffold in Kalama.
- The Gallows at Colfax
A thousand spectators crowded the streets and hillsides to witness the final penalty for a murder in Whitman County.
- The Farmer’s Cabinet: Why Seattle’s Papers Are Fighting a War in Washington
An editorial in the *Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer* argues against elevating the Department of Agriculture to Cabinet status, warning that it would create bureaucratic chaos and ignore the true role of federal oversight.
- The Great Railway Truce of 1886
A high-stakes standoff between the Knights of Labor and the Northern Pacific Railroad reaches a tentative peace in Seattle.
- Seattle’s Filipino Community Remembers a Martyr
Thirty-two years after José Rizal’s execution, Seattle’s Filipino organizations staged a literary-musical tribute at Broadway Auditorium—with a University of Washington scholar as guest of honor.
- The Price of Industrial Expansion
A sheriff’s auction reveals the crushing debt behind the rise of Seattle’s coal industry in the 1870s.
- The Price of Early Seattle Speculation
A series of 1878 sheriff's sales reveals the precarious nature of land ownership during Seattle's early frontier development.
- A Smear, a Denial, and the Sheriff's Race
Stevens County Republicans disavowed a circular attacking the Democratic sheriff candidate—and insisted their own man, T. J. Turk, had nothing to do with it.
- The Anarchist’s Pamphleteer
While the nation held its breath over the Haymarket executions in Chicago, a woman faced down Seattle police to distribute radical literature on Government Square.
- Legislature Moves to Protect Debtors from Foreclosure
A new bill seeks to allow judgment debtors to retain possession and profits of their property during the legal redemption period.
- Vigilante Justice Follows the Murder of a Pierce County Leader
A mass-meeting in Steilacoom formalizes the community's outrage over the vigilante killing of a citizen-slayer, reflecting deep distrust in the local courts.
- The Great Statehood Gamble: Why Washington Was Left Behind While South Dakota Joined the Union
As North Yakima pushes for an independent convention and Congress favors executive proclamation for other territories, Seattle’s leaders warn that the 'omnibus bill' is actively discriminating against Washington's path to statehood.
- A Massive Retirement Haven for Carpenters
A national committee proposes a $350,000 facility for aging and infirm union carpenters, funded by a modest per capita tax.
- The Strange Case of the Seized Horse
A Port Townsend magistrate attempts to settle a private debt by seizing a horse that didn't belong to the debtor, sparking a procedural standoff.
- The Governor’s Power Grab
New executive bills give Governor Roland H. Hartley unprecedented control over state agencies, budgets, and tax assessments.
- The Senator vs. The Railroad Barons
A fierce Senate debate erupts over the Northern Pacific’s attempt to claim land through a 'coal branch' built years earlier.
- The Social Siege of Miss Alioa Burns
A young Seattle resident is expelled from a Tacoma club dance, sparking a standoff and a threat of legal retribution.
- The $100-a-Month Bosses: Mining Executives Earn More Than Presidents
A new report reveals that the average salary of mining officials in Washington Territory is $100 per month—double that of state legislators and far exceeding the wages of the men who dig the ore.
- A Saloon Debt, a Partnership, and a Judge’s Ruling on Fraud
A Tacoma liquor wholesaler tried to attach Olympia and Tenino saloons over $700; the court said the property shuffle wasn’t enough to prove fraudulent intent.
- The Political 'Guillotine' Comes to Seattle
A scathing look at the rapid-fire political turnover in Washington Territory, where federal appointments fall 'like the leaves of Autumn' under the winds of executive displeasure.
- The Sentencing of James McPherson
A somber day in court as a defendant is sentenced to death despite his final protestations of innocence.
Also about this, in other words
- Hanged on a Doubt: Washington Territory's First White Execution
When John Thompson was hanged in Seattle in 1877, many believed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The Dispatch made the case that the law had taken a life it should have spared.
- The Futility of the Gallows
One month after Seattle's first judicial execution of a white man, the local press questions whether state-sanctioned violence actually deters crime or simply breeds contempt for the law.
- The Swift and Terrible Justice of the Gallows
A condemned man is rushed to the gallows in just five days, sparking outrage over the speed of the judicial process in Snohomish.
- ‘You Are Hanging an Innocent Man’: A Condemned Killer’s Last Words Before 4,000 Witnesses
Ezra Snoderly, one of the Cummins murderers, is hanged in Dayton’s courthouse square — insisting to the very end that he dies for another man’s crime, while the crowd judges him ‘game.’
- The Hanging Sentence of John Thompson
A condemned man stands in a crowded Seattle courtroom, maintaining his innocence while awaiting the gallows for a fatal brawl in Renton.