Looking Back at Montana’s Last Public Execution

There is a lot of talk right now about the execution Nidal Hassan, the former US Army major who murdered 13 people and injured 32 others at Fort Hood back in 2009.

It was recently announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that the execution would be a public one and that people would be able to livestream it.

This announcement, as you'd imagine, stirred a lot of controversy. But that's not what we're here to talk about. Instead, I'm taking us back to the last time Montana held an execution that was open to the public.

Montana's Last Public Execution: "Lee" Simpson

If the idea of a public execution is shocking to you, you might be surprised to learn public executions have happened before... and right here in Montana.

According to the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, the last public execution was for Warren "Lee" Simpson, who went by Lee.

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Simpson was sentenced to death for shooting and killing Undersheriff Arthur "Buzz" Buford, who had only been an officer for about a month and a half after murdering Robert and Gerald McDonald just a few days earlier according to multiple sources including his bio at his gravesite's webpage.

How Many People Showed Up to Montana's Last Public Execution?

According to different sources, an estimated 400 to 500 people showed up to witness the execution in Ryegate, Montana and Simpson reportedly dropped through the trap just after 2 AM on December 30, 1939.

Now, it obviously wasn't possible to livestream an execution back in 1939 but they did send invitations.

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Do you think they would have livestreamed this execution if they could have? Does this public execution change the way you think about public executions? Let me know your thoughts HERE.