Some members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation might seek a posthumous pardon for a Dakota man who was executed under the watch of President Abraham Lincoln on December 26, 1862.

We-Chank-Wash-ta-don-pee, also known as Chaske, was sentenced to death by a military tribunal for attacks on settlers in Minnesota. But Lincoln pardoned Chaske and hundreds of others Dakotas due to insufficient evidence.

Chaske, however, was still hanged to death along with 37 other Dakota men in Mankato. There was no explanation for the mixup -- although it appears soldiers mistook him for another man.

“A wrong should be righted,” outgoing Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minnesota) told The New York Times. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota), who sits on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said he will look into the issue in the next session of Congress.

Get the Story:
Execution 150 Years Ago Spurs Calls for Pardon (The New York Times 12/14)