William Jackson Marion

Portrait of Marion from the 1880s

William Jackson "Jack" Marion (May 13, 1849 – March 25, 1887) was an American man who was convicted of the 1872 murder of John Cameron, a Kansas native and a friend. Marion and Cameron were railroad workers who embarked on a trip to Kansas to work on the railroad in 1872. During the trip, Cameron went missing, spurring an investigation into his whereabouts. In 1873, a decomposing body was discovered in a Nebraska riverbed wearing clothing that some claimed to have belonged to Cameron, leading authorities to believe that Marion may have murdered Cameron. Years later, following a two-month trial and conviction, the state of Nebraska executed Marion for Cameron's murder in 1887.

Four years after Marion's execution, his uncle, William Wymore, claimed that he saw him alive in Kansas. Wymore had always claimed his nephew was innocent and there was no evidence to substantiate his claims that Cameron was alive other than the alleged testimony of another of Marion's relatives.[1] On March 25, 1987, the 100th anniversary of his hanging, Marion was granted a posthumous pardon by the Nebraska Board of Pardons after lobbying by his descendants. The Board of Pardons said it made no determination about whether Marion was guilty or innocent.[2][3]

Early life

Marion was born in Mahaska County, Iowa on May 13, 1849 to Tipton Marion (1824 – 1909) and his wife, Margret McMains (1823 – 1868). On November 6, 1871, he married Lydia Jane Finley in Gage County, Nebraska.

Wrongful arrest, prosecution and execution of William Jackson Marion

In early May 1872, William Jackson Marion and his friend John Cameron began a trip from Liberty, Nebraska, to Valley Falls, Kansas (formerly known as Grasshopper Falls), to work on the railroad.[4] They stopped for the night in Wild Cat Creek, Nebraska and stayed at the home of Marion's mother-in-law, Rachel Warren.

On May 5, 1872, Marion returned to his mother-in-law's home with Cameron's team of horses, but without Cameron. Marion's mother-in-law suspected that he had killed Cameron, and eventually Marion left Nebraska. In March 1873, a decomposing body was found in a riverbed in Gage County, Nebraska, wearing clothing that unidentified witnesses claimed to be John Cameron's. Marion was named a suspect, although he was not then located.[5]

Marion at the gallows shortly before his execution

During December 1882, Marion was located in a county jail cell at Sedan, Kansas, in Chautauqua County, awaiting trial on a charge of stealing.[6] He was taken to Beatrice, Nebraska, where he was indicted for the murder of John Cameron. A jury convicted him, and the judge sentenced him to death.[7][8] The trial took two months.[9] On appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court vacated the conviction[10] and ordered a new trial, noting that by Nebraska law at the time of the murder, a death sentence had to be decided by a jury, not a judge. Upon his second conviction, Marion was again sentenced to death and, after losing a second appeal,[11] was hanged in Beatrice, Nebraska, on March 25, 1887. An article in the Omaha Daily Bee on March 26, 1887, declared there to be "no doubt that he was guilty and also guilty of other murders in the Indian Territory."[12]

Alleged re-appearance of John Cameron

Four years after Marion was executed, in 1891, his uncle, William Wymore, claimed to have seen Cameron alive. He claimed that Cameron had explained during the nearly twenty years since his "murder", he traveled to Mexico, Alaska, and Colorado.[13][14] In a written statement provided by William Wymore, Cameron allegedly explained that he had fled due to fear of a paternity allegation.[13] He said he had sold his team of horses to Marion and still had the note Marion had given him for payment of the remainder. However, this note was never actually produced. There is no other evidence that Cameron was seen alive beyond the word of Wymore and allegedly another relative of Marion.[1][15]

Pardon of William Jackson Marion

On March 25, 1987, Marion was pardoned posthumously by the State of Nebraska, on the 100th anniversary of his hanging after lobbying by his grandson.[16] In its decision, the Nebraska Board of Pardons said it made no determination about whether Marion was guilty or innocent.[2]

In the news

A February 2013 documentary entitled "...until he is dead. A history of Nebraska's death penalty," discussed at length the hanging and later pardon of William Jackson Marion.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "4 August 1891 The Nebraska State Journal (William Jackson Marion)". Lincoln Journal Star. 1891-08-04. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-02-19.
  2. ^ a b "William Jackson Marion Pardon". executedtoday.com. 2011-03-25.
  3. ^ Jackson, Darryl W.; Smith, Jeffrey F.; Sisson, Edward H.; Krasnoff, Helene F. (1999). "Bending Toward Justice: The Posthumous Pardon of Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flippert" (PDF). Indiana University Bloomington.
  4. ^ "Man hanged in Beatrice in 1887; pardoned by then-Gov. Kerrey nearly a century later". The Omaha Herald. August 20, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  5. ^ "Editorial Jottings" (PDF). Nebraska Advertiser. April 3, 1873. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  6. ^ "Man hanged in Beatrice in 1887; pardoned by then-Gov. Kerrey nearly a century later". The Omaha Herald. August 20, 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  7. ^ "Crime and Cussedness" (PDF). The Evening Critic. May 4, 1883. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  8. ^ "For a Murder Committed Eleven Years Ago" (PDF). The Sun. 1883-05-05. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  9. ^ "Sudden Departures" (PDF). Daily Evening Bulletin. 1883-05-05. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  10. ^ "Marion v. State, 16 Neb. 349, 20 N.W. 289 (Neb. 1884)".
  11. ^ "Marion v. State, 20 Neb. 233, 29 N.W. 911 (Neb. 1886)".
  12. ^ "Death on the Scaffold – Jack Marion Hustled Hence With Hemp at Beatrice – Formalities on the Choke" (PDF). Omaha Daily Bee. March 26, 1887. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Hanged an Innocent Man – Sensational Developments in an Old Murder Case at Beatrice" (PDF). Omaha Daily Bee. August 4, 1891. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  14. ^ "Nebraska State News" (PDF). The Red Cloud Chief. August 4, 1891. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  15. ^ Lee, Wayne C. (1993). Bad Men and Bad Towns. Caxton Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0870043499.
  16. ^ "Family gathers to clean grave of man hung in Gage County". Beatrice Daily Sun. 2008-09-22. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  17. ^ "1887 Hanging Remains Nebraska's Most Controversial Execution". February 7, 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
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