James Allen Red Dog

James Allen Red Dog (February 1, 1954 – March 3, 1993) was a Sioux and Assiniboine multiple murderer from Fort Peck Indian Reservation who was executed at his own request for murdering Hugh Pennington in Delaware. As a result of his crimes, then-Senator Joe Biden introduced legislation that required states to be notified by federal officials when dangerous criminals were placed in their jurisdictions.

Early life Red Dog's heritage was a mix of (Dakota) Sioux and Assiniboine. He was a member of the Dakota tribe,

Later life Red Dog once told a television interviewer that since his first serious crime, an armed robbery in 1973, he had been "prepared to die". Along with two other men, Steven Wayne Lilley and Ralph James Clancy, he robbed a liquor and pizza store on the reservation. During the robbery in the early morning of October 4, he shot and killed the owner, 39-year-old William Clark Veseth.

All three men were charged with first degree murder. Clancy pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to six years in prison. Lilley was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, but acquitted after a retrial in 1975. Red Dog was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and robbery. The verdict contradicted federal law, under which he should've been found guilty of first degree murder under the felony murder rule. Frustrated by the lesser verdict, the judge dismissed the manslaughter conviction against Red Dog, but sentenced him to 15 years in prison for the robbery, the statutory maximum for the charge.

In exchange for testifying against the other inmates and being a witness in an investigation about prison gangs and the militant American Indian Movement, Red Dog was placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program, and released on parole on June 27, 1990. After his release, he was relocated to Delaware, where he would murder Hugh Pennington less than eight months later.

Red Dog became the second convict to be executed since Delaware reinstated executions in 1992. Steven Brian Pennell, executed in March 1992, was the first; prior to that, none had taken place since 1946. Red Dog decried the "festive" atmosphere of the Pennell execution and said he hoped "that my execution will be conducted with more solemnity than a circus act!"

At about 10 a.m., his final words were to thank his supporters and curse the rest of the witnesses. According to witnesses he died with his left eye open. He was pronounced dead at 10:28 a.m.

Aftermath Steven Wood, Delaware state prosecutor, said that an earlier execution would have saved the lives of four of Red Dog's victims.

As a result of Red Dog's crimes, then-Delaware Senator Joe Biden introduced legislation that required federal officials to notify states when dangerous criminals were placed in their jurisdictions.