Harold Lamont "Walkin' Wili" Otey (August 1, 1951 – September 2, 1994) was an American criminal convicted of the 1977 rape and murder of Jane McManus, a 26-year-old photography student, in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite recanting his confession and maintaining his innocence for more than 15 years, Otey became the first person to be executed in Nebraska since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated. He was executed in 1994 by electrocution, becoming the first person to die in Nebraska's electric chair since Charles Starkweather was executed in 1959. Otey's final days were documented by the CBS News program 48 Hours entitled "Death by Midnight". Early life Harold Lamont Otey was born on August 1, 1951, in Long Branch, New Jersey. He was born into a large family and had six brothers and six sisters. At the age of 4, Otey left home and went to live with his aunt and uncle in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He attended school and achieved good grades. In eighth grade, his aunt died and Otey returned to Long Branch to live with his mother. He had a hard time and had difficulty identifying with people who were a similar age to him. In ninth grade, Otey was suspended from school and took a job walking horses at a local racetrack. Otey continued the job for the next eleven years. He worked at major racetracks on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Murder In the early morning hours of June 11, 1977, Otey headed to his home in Omaha, Nebraska after a night of partying. As he walked home, he noticed 26-year-old Jane McManus, an Omaha photography student and waitress, sleeping on a sofa on the first floor of the house she shared with her sister. Otey entered the house through the back door, stole a stereo set, and carried it outside, putting it down behind a nearby garage. He then re-entered the apartment and woke McManus. Otey then told her that he was going to rape and rob her. As he attacked McManus, she fought back, causing Otey to cut her across the forehead with a knife. He then raped her before forcing her upstairs to retrieve money, where he stabbed her again. According to Otey, who recounted the crime after his arrest, McManus begged him to kill her. Otey then hit her four or five times over the head with a hammer and