George Sitts
Encyclopedia
George Sitts was executed at the age of 33 by the U.S. state
of South Dakota
for the murder
of state Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Tom Matthews, who was attempting to arrest Sitts on a fugitive warrant from Minnesota
.
He was the only person to die in South Dakota's electric chair
, and it would be a little over 60 years until the next time South Dakota would carry out an execution — Elijah Page via lethal injection
on July 11, 2007.
Sitts, who escaped from prison while serving a life sentence for murder, also shot and killed Butte County
Sheriff Dave Malcolm near Spearfish
, on January 24, 1946. Sitts was convicted in Minnesota for the 1945 murder of a liquor store clerk during a botched robbery.
After spending three weeks sawing on the bars of his cell in the Minneapolis city jail, Sitts and three other men broke out the day before Sitts was scheduled to be transferred to a state prison.
After the slayings of Matthews and Malcolm, Sitts fled to Wyoming
, where he was arrested on February 5, 1946, and returned to South Dakota. Sitts was tried first for the murder of Matthews and after his conviction and death sentence in March 1946, the state opted not to try him for Malcolm's murder.
South Dakota introduced the electric chair as the manner of execution in 1939 and Sitts was the fourth man sentenced to die in the chair. The three previous sentences, however, were commuted to life in prison.
Sitts's final words were a wry joke to the 41 official witnesses. "This is the first time authorities helped me escape prison," he said right before the four shocks surged through his body at 12:15 a.m.
Special Agent Matthews name is inscribed on Panel 34 of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial located on Judiciary Square
, Washington, D.C.
Sheriff Malcolm's name is inscribed on Panel 53.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of state Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Tom Matthews, who was attempting to arrest Sitts on a fugitive warrant from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
He was the only person to die in South Dakota's electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
, and it would be a little over 60 years until the next time South Dakota would carry out an execution — Elijah Page via lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
on July 11, 2007.
Sitts, who escaped from prison while serving a life sentence for murder, also shot and killed Butte County
Butte County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,094 people, 3,516 households, and 2,468 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were 4,059 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile...
Sheriff Dave Malcolm near Spearfish
Spearfish, South Dakota
Spearfish is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota,United States. The population was 10,494 at the 2010 census.- History :Prior to the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1876, the area was used by Native Americans who would spear fish in the creek...
, on January 24, 1946. Sitts was convicted in Minnesota for the 1945 murder of a liquor store clerk during a botched robbery.
After spending three weeks sawing on the bars of his cell in the Minneapolis city jail, Sitts and three other men broke out the day before Sitts was scheduled to be transferred to a state prison.
After the slayings of Matthews and Malcolm, Sitts fled to Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, where he was arrested on February 5, 1946, and returned to South Dakota. Sitts was tried first for the murder of Matthews and after his conviction and death sentence in March 1946, the state opted not to try him for Malcolm's murder.
South Dakota introduced the electric chair as the manner of execution in 1939 and Sitts was the fourth man sentenced to die in the chair. The three previous sentences, however, were commuted to life in prison.
Sitts's final words were a wry joke to the 41 official witnesses. "This is the first time authorities helped me escape prison," he said right before the four shocks surged through his body at 12:15 a.m.
Special Agent Matthews name is inscribed on Panel 34 of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial located on Judiciary Square
Judiciary Square
Judiciary Square is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., the vast majority of which is occupied by various federal and municipal courthouses and office buildings...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Sheriff Malcolm's name is inscribed on Panel 53.
See also
- Capital punishment in South DakotaCapital punishment in South Dakota-Current development:South Dakota Legislature passed a new death penalty statute, which went to effect due to signature of Governor Bill Janklow on January 1, 1979.-Crimes punishable by death:...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
Resources
- "Testimony Completed in Sitts Murder Trial," Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, March 20, 1946. - "Chair Closes Criminal Career," Associated Press, April 8, 1947.
- "Prisoner Faces Murder Charge," United Press, February 7, 1946.