History of the Death Penalty

By maddieloiselle

  • First Recorded Use of Capital Punishment in America

    When early settlers from Britain settled in America. The first recorded use of capital punishment in America was Captain George Kendall in Jamestown in 1608. He was executed for being a spy from Spain.

  • Divine, Moral and Martial Laws

    The first law was passed in Virginia regarding the death penalty. These laws, known as the "Divine, Moral and Martial Laws," essentially allowed capital punishment for even small infractions such as stealing grapes, trading with Native Americans, and more.

  • First Woman Executed in the Colonies

    Jane Champion was executed in James City, Virginia in 1632. She was executed for murdering and concealing the death of her illegitimate child. The father of the baby also aided in the infanticide and was sentenced to hanging but it is not clear whether he was executed or not.

  • On Crimes and Punishments

    Before the Constitution was written, theorists contemplated capital punishment. Cesare Beccaria’s essay, On Crimes and Punishment, theorizes that there is no justification for the state to take a life. His essay was the first widespread take on the death penalty.

  • First Attempt to Reform the Death Penalty

    The first known attempt to reform capital punishment laws were by Thomas Jefferson to Virginia's' laws. He proposed a bill to the Virginia senate that would abolish capital punishment for all crimes except for murder and treason. The bill was defeated by one vote.

  • First State to Abolish the Death Penalty

    In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason. While other states had put limits on capital punishment, none had completely abolished it. Soon other states followed suite.

  • First use of the Electric Chair

    In 1890, William Kemmler was the first man sentenced to the electric chair. He was charged with the murder of his wife the year prior. The chair did not kill him after the first shock and it took another 2,000 volts in order for him to pass.

  • First use of Cyanide Gas in Capital Punishment

    In 1924, the use of a gas chamber with cyanide gas was used in capital punishment. Gee Jon was the first man sentenced to cyanide in Nevada. Only five states currently still use this form of capital punishment.

  • Trop vs. Dulles

    In 1958 (Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101), the Supreme Court noted that the interpretation of the Eighth Amendment contained an "evolving standard of decency that marked the progress of a maturing society." This was the first Supreme Court case to make a decision on the death penalty.

  • Gregg v. Georgia

    Four years before Gregg v. Georgia, the Supreme Court suspended the death penalty. In the case, the reinstated it on the case that it"does not, under all circumstances, violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments." Since then, 27 states currently have the death penalty.