when was the death penalty first used in the united states
Capital punishment in the United States The first recorded death sentence in the British North American colonies was carried out in 1608 on Captain George Kendall,[10] who was executed by firing squad[11] at the Jamestown colony for spying for the Spanish government.[12]
Computerized Criminal History Computerized Criminal History
Capital punishment in the United States From 1976 to July 1, 2018, there were 1,477 executions, of which 1,302 were by lethal injection, 158 by electrocution, 11 by gas inhalation, 3 by hanging, and 3 by firing squad.[47] The South had the great majority of these executions, with 1,207; there were 181 in the Midwest, 85 in the West, and only 4 in the Northeast. No state in the Northeast has conducted an execution since Connecticut, now abolitionist, in 2005. The state of Texas alone conducted 552 executions, over 1/3 of the total; the states of Texas, Virginia, and Oklahoma combined make up over half the total, with 777 executions between them.[48] 3 executions have been conducted by the federal government, the last in 2003. Executions increased in frequency until 1999; 98 prisoners were executed that year. Since 1999, the number of executions has greatly decreased, and the 20 executions in 2016 were the fewest since 1991.[6]
Eight-hour day On 19 May 1869, President Ulysses Grant issued a National Eight Hour Law Proclamation.[16]