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First case using the death penalty in the US
The first case using the death penalty was against Captain George Kendall in Virginia in 1608. He was executed because he was though to be a spy for Spain. The first form of execution to be used in the united states was hanging. -
Debates begin
The abolitionists began a movement against the death penalty. Many of them though of this practice to be cruel and would rather have a different way of dealing with punishments. Their movements are still going on to this day in order to eliminate the death penalty. -
The first use of electrocution
William Kemmler, arrested for killing his wife with an axe was the first person to be subject to killing with the electric chair. This was a brand new thing and when he was killed people reported smelling burning flesh and saw that Kemmler was obviously dead but they still shocked him 2 more times. This sparked many questions of the crimes that could be sentenced to death. -
States begin to abolish the death penalty
Nine states between 1907-1917 start to either strictly limit the use of the death penalty or completely abolish the use of it. These states included Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Tennessee. This list does not include the states that never adopted it in the first place. Some states including, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin never had legislation for a death penalty. -
New method introduced.
In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was used in order to give the death penalty to criminals. This was thought of to be a more humane way to die aside from hanging and the electric chair. The first case to have had use this method was in Nevada and was used to kill a Chinese gang member Gee Jon. -
All time high
In the 1930s America had gotten to an all time high of yearly deaths due to the death penalty. They had gotten up to 167 deaths per year because of this. A few years after this number was reached was when the United States general proclaimed the "right to life" which led to the decrease of death penalty sentences per year. -
Voiding deaths
In case of Furman v. Georgia, where Furman was being tried for murder and was sentenced to death. This sparked conversations about the constitutionality of the death penalty. After the case the Supreme Court voided 40 death penalty statutes and suspended the death penalty. -
Reintroduced death penalty
In the case of Gregg v. Georgia, Gregg was charged and found guilty of armed robbery and murder. This case answered driving questions about the death penalty and it became reinstated in American law when it comes to cases involving murder. Gregg was found guilty and sentenced to death for his crimes. -
Lethal injection is introduced
Earlier in 1977 Oklahoma is the first state to adopt the method of lethal injection as a way to kill people who are sentenced to death. It was not until 1982 where this was used in the case of Charles Brooks. He was charged with murder and broke news headlines by being the first person to die by injecting a "cocktail of drugs intended to numb his body and mind, paralyze him and stop his heart." -
What about pleading insanity
In the case of Ford v. Wainwright the question was posed that at what point is a person excluded from being sentenced to death. The answer to this question was that a person needs to go through a process of testing and has to be proven not to be insane to get the death penalty. If you are proven insane you are not allowed to receive a death sentence. Sentencing someone who is insane to death is against the eighth amendment. -
Are people with intelligence disorders excluded?
In the case of Penry V. Lynaugh, Penry was diagnosed with "mental retardation" the question to answer was that could he be excluded from the death penalty due to this condition. The answer was that it was not against the eighth amendment to execute someone with mental retardation. Penry was convicted of rape and first degree murder and sentenced to death. -
Is age a factor?
In the case of Roper V. Simmons, the question was raised if someone under the age of 18 could be given a death sentence. Roper had committed first degree murder and was sentenced to death as a 17 year old. The Supreme Court then ruled that giving someone under the age of 18 the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment. -
The latest state to repeal the death penalty.
In March of 2011 the governor of Illinois, Pat Quin signed legislation to repeal the death penalty from Illinois. Instead of being sentenced to death, criminals would be sentenced to life without parole. This makes Illinois the 22nd state to repeal the death penalty.