Oklahoma's First Legal Execution

In downtown Oklahoma City, between Griffin Studios/Oklahoman and the YMCA, is where the old Oklahoma County jail once stood. Next to it, where today a bay of elevators and the YMCA's entrance meet, also stood a gallows, from which axe murderer John Milligan was hanged, on March 13, 1895.

    His death became Oklahoma's first legal execution and the first and only in Oklahoma County. What is more amazing, is how surviving documentation shows that Milligan's case nearly abolished the death penalty in Oklahoma before it ever began. It is an incredible story compiled and written by an amazing friend and fellow historian, Bobby Dobbs. I encourage you to take a look and leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Click to Read: The Gallows of Oklahoma City by Bobby Dobbs