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The first execution in the USA was of Captain George Kendell, Jamestown colony, Virginia for espionage.
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Governor Sir Thomas Dale, allowed the Death Penalty to be used for minor crimes like stealing grapes and killing chickens.
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Jane Champion becomes the first woman ever to be executed in the colonies.
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Pennsylvania limits the death penalty to only murder and treason.
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The Salem witch trials begin. 200 people from Salem and bordering towns were accused,19 people were hanged, and 17 people died in prison.
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Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia's death penalty but it was defeated by one vote.
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The US Congress authorized the federal death penalty. In total there have been 343 federal executions.
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Many states enact laws providing private hangings instead of the public executions.
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Michigan becomes first English speaking territory to ever abolish the Death Penalty.
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NY holds the first execution by electrocution killing William Kemmler
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Following Kansas, from 1895 to 1917, eight states abolished the death penalty.
