Northern Ohio's First and Last Public Execution - John O'Mic

After acquiring an adequate length of rope, he promptly went to the home of O'mic the Elder, John's father, situated on the other side of the winding Cuyahoga River. Major Carter informed O'mic about his son's wrongdoing and then revealed the rope, stating that he intended to track down his son and hang him from the first available tree. Eventually, O'mic persuaded Carter against his dreadful plan by promising that John would never again visit the East Side by crossing the River.

On April 3rd, 1812, the remains of two white fur trappers named Daniel Buel and Michael Gibbs were discovered in the ashes of their burned cabin near Sandusky. They had been killed for their furs and their cabin was set ablaze with them inside. The search for the perpetrators led to the capture of three Cherokee Indians hiding in the Maumee swamp area.

One was released due to his youth and the second, named Semo, killed himself with a firearm. As a result, John O'mic was the last captive left to the mercy of frontier justice. As Huron County then remained part of Cuyahoga County’s judicial realm, O'mic was removed to Major Clarke’s home in Cleveland, where he was confined in an upper room using leg irons attached to a joist.

The trial of O'mic was held on April 29th at Superior and Water Streets, a short formality that took place under a tree. O'mic was defended by Peter Hitchcock and prosecuted by Alfred Kelley, with William W. Irvin and Ethan Allen Brown serving as judges. The stolen furs were found in O'mic's possession when he was caught, and he had no co-defendants on whom he could turn the state's evidence, so O'mic was quickly found guilty of Buel's murder and sentenced to death on June 26th, 1812.