Capital punishment in Vermont

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Capital punishment in the state of Vermont ended in 1972 for all crimes due to Furman v. Georgia and has not been reinstated since. Vermont still has pre-Furman capital statutes on the books but these have been left unenforceable due to Furman. Most states changed their capital punishment laws to conform with Furman and Gregg v. Georgia , but the Vermont legislature has yet to do so, effectively abolishing the death penalty in the state. [1] [2] [3] The state last executed a prisoner, Donald DeMag, in 1954, after he received the sentence for a double robbery-murder he committed after escaping prison.

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Although DeMag was the last person executed by Vermont, he was not the last person to be sentenced to death by a Vermont court. Lionel Goyet, a soldier who was Absent Without Leave for the fifth time, robbed and killed a farmhand, and was sentenced to death in 1957. [4] His sentence was commuted six months later, [5] and Goyet was conditionally pardoned in 1969. [6] He had no further problems with the law, and died of heart failure in 1980. [7]

Vermont still has a pre- Furman statute providing death by electrocution for treason, though the state's execution chamber has since closed. [8]

Summary

Vermont capital punishment summary
Total number of executions: 26 (25 as a state)
DateMethodNameOffense
Date capital punishment was legally abolished1972
Legal methods of execution1778–1919 hanging (21)
1919–1972 electrocution (5)
First legal execution06-11-1778 hanging David Redding treason
Most recent legal execution12-08-1954 electrocution Donald DeMag murder

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Vermont: Death Penalty Information Centre". Death Penalty Information Centre. 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Vermont Capital Punishment Law". FindLaw. 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Vermont Laws". legislature.vermont.gov.
  4. ↑ Associated Press, Newport Daily News, To Die in Chair, May 8, 1957
  5. ↑ North Adams Transcript, Goyet's Death Term Commuted to Life, November 4, 1957
  6. ↑ United Press International, Bennington Banner, Christmas Pardons for Three, December 16, 1969
  7. ↑ Wilson Ring, Associated Press, Boston Globe, 50 Years Later, Vt. Revisits Executions, May 1, 2005
  8. ↑ "Vermont Laws". legislature.vermont.gov.

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References

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