Robert Collier
Robert Collier, a Black man, was remembered by his family as a loving son, father and husband who fished with his daughter Rosalie and tried to help his elderly parents. In a jailhouse interview, he urged young Black men to get an education. He was electrocuted at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City on October 16, 1914, the first Black man executed in the state's new electric chair. His great-great-granddaughter, Latonya Collier, later researched his life, wrote a book about him, and visited the chair, which is now displayed at New Castle Correctional Facility.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: Indiana State Prison (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.