When George Bear encountered his stepson, John Shaw, as the latter man was loading hay into a wagon in October 1902, they argued over money Shaw owed Bear. When Shaw failed to pay him, Bear shot him.
He then tracked down C. Edward Taylor, for whom Shaw was working, and killed him.
Because the killings occurred on the Rosebud Reservation, Bear was subject to federal jurisdiction. At trial in federal court in Sioux Falls, Bear was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death on October 29, 1902.
George Bear was hanged in Sioux Falls on December 5, 1902.
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Author: Bill Lofquist
I am a sociologist and death penalty scholar at the State University of New York at Geneseo. I am also a Pittsburgh native. My present research focuses on the history of the death penalty in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa.
This website is dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about all Allegheny County cases in which a death sentence was imposed.
Please share any questions or comments, errors or omissions, or other matters of interest related to these cases or to the broader history of the death penalty in Allegheny County.
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The Federal Death Penalty Project 