James Arcene

James Arcene (died June 18, 1885) was the youngest child executed in the United States. Arcene, a Cherokee boy, was hanged by the U.S. federal government in Indiana for his role in a robbery and murder committed when he was 10 years old.

It is unclear how much time passed between the crime and the execution, but in other cases of children executed prior to the 20th century, the elapsed time was as little as 6 months, which means that Arcene probably was only 10 or 11 years old when he was executed.

Arcene's case is frequently brought up in discussions of the death penalty for children, and to a lesser degree in discussions of the unfair treatment Native Americans received from the United States government.

ee also

* List of juvenile offenders executed in the United States