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Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used in Britain and Ireland from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964; capital punishment for murder was suspended in 1965 and finally abolished in 1969. Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998; the last to be executed for treason was William Joyce, in 1946. In 2004, Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom; it prohibits the restoration of the death penalty as long as the UK is a party to the convention.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Nevada.
Capital punishment in Canada dates to Canada's earliest history, including its period as first a French then a British colony. From 1867 to the elimination of the death penalty for murder on July 26, 1976, 1,481 people had been sentenced to death, and 710 had been executed. Of those executed, 697 were men and 13 women. The only method used in Canada for capital punishment of civilians after the end of the French regime was hanging. The last execution in Canada was the double hanging of Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin on December 11, 1962, at Toronto's Don Jail. The National Defence Act prescribed the death penalty for certain military offences until 1999, although no military executions had been carried out since 1946.
Capital punishment was abolished in 2019 in New Hampshire for persons convicted of capital murder. It remains a legal penalty for crimes committed prior to May 30, 2019.
Capital punishment in France is banned by Article 66-1 of the Constitution of the French Republic, voted as a constitutional amendment by the Congress of the French Parliament on 19 February 2007 and simply stating "No one can be sentenced to the death penalty". The death penalty was already declared illegal on 9 October 1981 when President François Mitterrand signed a law prohibiting the judicial system from using it and commuting the sentences of the seven people on death row to life imprisonment. The last execution took place by guillotine, being the main legal method since the French Revolution; Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian citizen convicted of torture and murder on French soil, was put to death in September 1977 in Marseille.
Wrongful execution is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment. Opponents of capital punishment often cite cases of wrongful execution as arguments, while proponents argue that innocence concerns the credibility of the justice system as a whole and does not solely undermine the use of the death penalty.
Capital punishment in Australia has been abolished in all jurisdictions since 1985. Queensland abolished the death penalty in 1922. Tasmania did the same in 1968. The Commonwealth abolished the death penalty in 1973, with application also in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Victoria did so in 1975, South Australia in 1976, and Western Australia in 1984. New South Wales abolished the death penalty for murder in 1955, and for all crimes in 1985. In 2010, the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation prohibiting the re-establishment of capital punishment by any state or territory. Australian law prohibits the extradition or deportation of a prisoner to another jurisdiction if they could be sentenced to death for any crime.
Capital punishment in Michigan was legal from the founding of Sault Ste Marie in 1668 during the French colonial period, until abolition by the state legislature in 1846. Michigan is one of three U.S. states never to have executed anyone following admission into the Union. The federal government, however, outside Michigan's jurisdiction, carried out one federal execution at FCI Milan in 1938.
Capital punishment in Romania was abolished in 1990, and has been prohibited by the Constitution of Romania since 1991.
Elmer David Bruner was a convicted American murderer. He was the last defendant executed by West Virginia, as the state abolished the capital punishment six years after his execution. Bruner was convicted of the May 1957 murder of 58-year-old Ruby H. Miller, who walked in on Bruner burglarizing her house and was then beaten to death. Bruner's trial and conviction took place in 1957, although appeals delayed his execution for almost two years.
Eleanor Power was the first English woman to be executed in what is today Canada. Power was hanged for the murder of William Keen, a justice of the peace in St. John's, Newfoundland.
In 2019, 43,686 crimes were reported in the U.S. state of Michigan. Crime statistics vary widely by location. For example, Dearborn has a murder rate of only 2.1 per 100,000 while sharing borders with Detroit and Inkster, some of the highest rates in the state.
Capital punishment in Botswana is a legal penalty, and is usually applied for murder under aggravated circumstances. Executions are carried out by hanging. Despite this, Botswana’s constitution guarantees right to life. It is the only country in Southern Africa that still uses capital punishment as a punishment.
Annice was the first female slave known to have been executed in Missouri. She was hanged for the murders of five children, two of whom were her own.
Rose Butler was an enslaved domestic worker in New York City. In July 1819, she was hanged for arson. At the time, the only capital crimes in New York State were first-degree arson and murder. She was the last person executed in New York State for arson.
Capital punishment has never been practiced Alaska throughout its history as a state, as it was abolished in 1957. Between December 28, 1869, and April 14, 1950, between the Department, District, and Territory of Alaska, twelve felons, all male, were executed by hanging for murder, robbery, and other crimes. Some were European, some were Native American, and two were African. The territorial legislature abolished capital punishment in 1957 during preparations for statehood, making Alaska the first in the West Coast of the United States to outlaw executions, along with Hawaii, which did the same.
Charles Moran was an American businessman, jurist, and politician who served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives. His family was prominent in early Detroit, and he is also related to the Campau and Dequindre families who were influential in the growth of the city.
Davontae Marcel Williams was a nine-year-old boy who, in 2004, died of malnutrition at his apartment in Arlington, Texas. He weighed 35 pounds at the time of his death. Davontae's mother, Marcella L. Williams, and his mother's partner, Lisa Ann Coleman, were arrested, accused of depriving Davontae of food, and charged with capital murder. Marcella Williams entered a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of life imprisonment, while Coleman refused a plea deal, was found guilty, and received a death sentence.
On April 12, 1978, Betty Gardner, a 33-year-old black woman, was sexually assaulted, tortured, and murdered by four white people during a racially motivated hate crime in St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Gardner had been hitchhiking when she was picked up by John Arnold, John Plath, Cindy Sheets, and Carol Ullman. After dropping Gardner off, Arnold suggested to the group that they kill her. Gardner was then sexually assaulted, strangled, beaten, and stabbed to death. After the murder, Arnold carved the letters "KKK" into her body.
References
- ↑ The other woman was an unnamed enslaved Native American executed in April 1763. Executions in the U.S. 1608-2002: The ESPY File Executions by State, Death Penalty Information Center, p. 166. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- 1 2 Miles, Tiya (2017). The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits. The New Press. ISBN 9781620972328.
- 1 2 Martelle, Scott (2014). Detroit: A Biography. Chicago Review Press. p. 14. ISBN 9781613748848.
- ↑ Baker, David V. (2015). Women and Capital Punishment in the United States: An Analytical History. McFarland. p. 111. ISBN 9780786499502.