Death penalty in America |
Abolished states: |
The United States death penalty was directly influenced by England when settlers came over and introduced their ideals on capital punishment. The first British North American Death penalty sentence can be traced back to 1608 when Captain George Kendall was accused of espionage in American for the country of Spain. Execution of the death penalty was here and commonly resorted to after treason was committed. Through the years, capital punishment was challenged under the Eighth amendment as the government committing "cruel and unusual acts." To this day, 18 states have abolished the Death Penalty.
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- Michigan (1846)
- Wisconsin (1853) - Maine (1887) - Minnesota (1911) - Alaska (1957) - Hawaii (1957) - Vermont (1964) *has capital punishment for treason - Iowa (1965) - West Virginia (1965) - North Dakota (1973) - Massachusetts (1984) *penalty abolished through court ruling |
- Rhode Island (1984)
- New Jersey (2007) - New York (2007) *penalty abolished through court ruling - New Mexico (2009) *death penalty is enforceable for offenses committed before the repeal; that is, abolition was not retroactive - Illinois (2011) - Connecticut (2012) *death penalty is enforceable for offenses committed before the repeal; that is, abolition was not retroactive - Maryland (2013) *death penalty is enforceable for offenses committed before the repeal; that is, abolition was not retroactive |