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Killing of Captain George Kendall
The killing of Captain George Kendall was the first recorded killing in the U.S (specifically present day Virginia). Captain Kendall was killed due to the fact he was a spy for Spain. This was considered espionage and Captain Kendall was executed by firing squad -
Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws
Thomas Dale was a Governor in Virginia when he created the Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws, which was the earliest body of laws in the new colonies. The governors created the laws to regulate the conduct of his members, employees, and servants. The Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws provided the death penalty for minor offenses and The Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws established itself as one of the first body of laws with the death penalty included inside of it -
First Woman to be Killed in the Colonies
In 1632, the first female execution occurred as Jane Champion was found guilty for murdering her child. Not only did she murder her child, but the father of the child was not her husband, which is a big no no in the colonies. Jane was later executed by hanging, which cemented her place in American history as the first recorded female execution -
First Federal Execution
Captain John Connor, a master of a slave-trading troop, was murdered aboard a ship in 1789. When the ship where the murder took place was captured, three men were arrested and a man named Thomas Bird was the only one of the three to be convicted. In June, 1790 Bird was the first federal execution by hanging -
Michigan is the First State to Abolish the Death Penalty (In General)
9 years after Michigan became a state, Michigan decided to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except for treason. Between 1846-1963, there has been a bill to bring back the penalty in over 40 sessions of the Michigan Legislature. But the closest time the death penalty was ever close to coming back was in 1929 when the bill to bring the death penalty passed both houses, but in the end the bill was vetoed -
Rhode Island Abolishes the Death Penalty for all Crimes
Last person to be hung in Rhode Island before the death penalty was abolished, was a man named Josh Gordon. After a surplus amount of years talking about the conviction of Gordon, the Senate Committee on Education issued a report. From there the Rhode Island General Assembly abolished capital punishment. The abolishment only lasted until 1872. RI is the first state to abolish the death penalty for ALL crimes -
Death Penalty is Halted for All States
In 1972, 3 men were sentenced to the death penalty in Georgia in their won cases. In the case, Thurman v. Georgia, the Court had ruled that the death penalty was in violation of the 8th amendment as it was seen as a cruel and unusual punishment. Since the death penalty was found as unconstitutional, all states in the U.S. had halted the use of the death penalty. At least 40 cases were voided as well -
Death Penalty is Reinstated
Certain states began to minimize discretion by giving sentencing guidelines for judges on the death penalty. The Supreme Court had agreed to the guidelines in Gregg v. Georgia, Jurek v. Texas, and Proffitt v. Florida. The decision made it that the death penalty in Florida, Georgia, and Texas was constitutional and the court also said that the death penalty itself was constitutional under the 8th amendment -
First Execution after the Death Penalty Was Reinstated
Gary Gilmore robbed and killed a gas station employee and the next day he robbed and killed Bennie Bushnell. Gilmore's trial had only lasted two days and he said he wished to be executed by firing squad when the jury recommended the death penalty due to being found guilty. He was ordered to be executed in November 1976, but due to being granted to several stays of executions (against his whishes), he was executed on January 17, 1977 -
Death Penalty Hits Its Peak
In the mid 1990s, there more than 300 death sentences per year. The highest death sentences in a year was in 1996 when it reached over more than 310 death sentences creating its peak. Since then, executions has declined greatly as since 1998, there has been a 75% decrease reinforcing the peak of death sentences in 1996.