Peter Jacob Yesley
Indiana Department of Correction
Monday, April 27, 1863
Served:
Badge #:
Not Included
Not Included
Incident Details
Cause of Death:Stabbed
Date/Time of Incident:
Monday, April 27, 1863
09:00 am
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
1410 South Clark Boulevard, Clarksville
Incident County:
Clark
Incident Township:
Jeffersonville
Weapon Used:
Edged weapon
Suspect Disposition:
Executed in 1864
Burial Place:
Fairview Cemetery, New Albany
Guard Peter Yesley was stabbed to death by an inmate at the Indiana State Prison South in Clarksville.
He had previously reported two prisoners to the warden for bad conduct and as he was standing at the head of a flight of stairs leading to the second story of the east wing, he was met by one of the inmates who struck him across the jaw and neck with a knife.
The 54-year-old inmate, who was serving a seven-year sentence for larceny from Warrick County, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
On June 17, 1864, he was executed by hanging in the yard of the Clark County Jail in Charlestown, the county seat from 1810 until 1873.
Guard Yesley, from New Albany, was survived by his wife, son, two daughters, five brothers and sister.
Historic Place
The Indiana State Prison South/Indiana Reformatory/Colgate-Palmolive Historic District consists of 18 contributing buildings dating to 1847 and is roughly bounded by Clark Boulevard, Montgomery Avenue, Missouri Avenue and the CSX railroad tracks. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 2019 and listed on the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures on January 16, 2019. |
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This officer, discovered in 2021, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Indiana Department of Correction.
Indiana Department of Correction
Guard Yesley