Dominic Daley (c. 1770 – June 5, 1806) was an Irishman who immigrated to America some time around 1800, and was executed for murder, in what has widely been believed to be a miscarriage of justice.
In November 1805, the body of a young farmer, Marcus Lyon, was found on the open road near town of Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
Daley and a fellow Irishman, James Halligan, were traveling in the area at the time, heading for New Haven, Connecticut, when they were arrested for the murder on November 12, 1805, in Northampton, Massachusetts, for which their captor was paid $500.
Once the trial for Commonwealth v. Dominic Daley and James Halligan began, they were convicted within minutes, under such flimsy evidence that one of the defense attorneys was led to declare that it was based simply on outright bigotry.
Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus, the Catholic bishop of Boston, went at great personal risk to assist them in their last moments.