Capital punishment in Rhode Island

Capital punishment in Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the one of the earliest U.S. States to abolish capital punishment, having completely abolished it for all crimes in 1852. The death penalty was later reintroduced in 1872, but it never was carried out before being abolished again in 1984.

Rhode Island performed 52 executions from 1673 to February 13, 1845. Only seven of them took place after statehood. Half of the all the executions occurred on July 19, 1723 when 26 sailors were hanged for piracy. Rhode Island has never executed a female [http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution/regional_studies_northeast.htm Regional Studies Northeast ] ] .

Hanging was a legal method and the most commonly used form of execution; however five executions were carried out by an unknown method.

History of abolitions

In January 1838, a report entitled, “Report of the Committee On the Abolishment of Capital Punishments” was made by the General Assembly Committee to Revise the Penal Code. The recommendation was to abolish capital punishment. On December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague, who was the brother of former Rhode Island Governor William Sprague, was murdered. In January 1844, the General Assembly had abolished capital punishment for all crimes except murder and arson. Amasa Sprague was one of the wealthiest and most powerful industrialists in the state. John, Nicholas, and William Gordon were indicted for the murder in March 1844. Nicholas Gordon had been involved in a dispute with Amasa Sprague over the renewal of Gordon’s liquor license.

The Gordons, who were Irish Catholics, received the support of the state labor movement, which consisted primarily of Irish and Italian immigrants. At the trial in 1844, Nicholas and William Gordon were found to have ironclad alibis, but considerable circumstantial evidence was presented against John Gordon. John Gordon was convicted of the murder in 1844 and was sentenced to death by hanging, to be carried out on February 14, 1845. The labor movement had seen the trial of the Gordons as part of the struggle with the commercially and politically powerful industrialists represented by the Sprague family. John Gordon’s conviction was appealed to the House of Representatives, which denied it by a vote of 36 to 27. It was then appealed to Governor James Fenner, who reviewed the conviction but refused to intercede.

John Gordon was executed for the murder of Amasa Sprague on February 14, 1845. This was the last execution in Rhode Island. On January 23, 1852, after seven years of discussion and debate regarding the merits of Gordon’s conviction and of capital punishment, the Senate Committee on Education issued a report on the history and merits of capital punishment. This report contains literary quotations on the death penalty and contemporary U.S. and European practices regarding capital punishment. On February 11, 1852, the Rhode Island General Assembly abolished capital punishment entirely.

However, the death penalty was reinstated in 1872 for a murder committed while under sentence of life imprisonment,http://www.sec.state.ri.us/library/riinfo/abolishing-of-the-death-penalty-in-rhode-island] , but no one was ever executed under this provision.

On June 26, 1973 Rhode Island General Assembly provided for the penalty of death by lethal gas for murders committed by persons while under confinement in the state correctional institutions. But the Rhode Island Supreme Court issued the opinion that the mandatory death sentence provisions of 1973 Chapter 280 (RI General Laws 11-23-2) violated the cruel and unusual punishment prohibitions of the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Finally, on May 9, 1984, the General Assembly enacted Public Law Chapter 221, which removed the mandatory death sentence language from RI General Law section 11-23-2. There have been many pieces of legislation introduced since 1984 to reinstate the death penalty for specific crimes, but nothing has been passed into law.

ummary

References

* [http://users.bestweb.net/~rg/execution/RHODE%20ISLAND.htm List of executions]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rhode Island — Rhode Islander. /rohd/ a state of the NE United States, on the Atlantic coast: a part of New England. 947,154; 1214 sq. mi. (3145 sq. km). Cap.: Providence. Abbr.: RI (for use with zip code), R.I. * * * officially Rhode Island and Providence… …   Universalium

  • Capital punishment in New Hampshire — Capital punishment in the U.S. state of New Hampshire is a legal form of punishment for the crime of capital murder. Capital murder is the only crime for which the death penalty can be imposed in the state. Since 1734, twenty four people have… …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of Rhode Island — …   Wikipedia

  • Rhode Island — • American state and one of the thirteen original colonies Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Rhode Island     Rhode Island     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Capital Punishment (Death Penalty) —     Capital Punishment     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Capital Punishment     The infliction by due legal process of the penalty of death as a punishment for crime.     The Latins use the word capitalis (from caput, head) to describe that which… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • capital punishment — n: death penalty Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. capital punishment …   Law dictionary

  • Capital punishment in Oregon — Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Oregon. The first execution under the territorial government was in 1851. Capital punishment was made explicitly legal by statute in 1864, and executions have been carried out exclusively at the… …   Wikipedia

  • Capital punishment in the United States — This article is about capital punishment in the U.S. as a general overview. For the federal government s capital punishment laws, see Capital punishment by the United States federal government. Part of a series on Capital punishment …   Wikipedia

  • Rhode Island — This article is about the U.S. state of Rhode Island. For other uses, see Rhode Island (disambiguation). RI and R.I. redirect here. For other uses, see RI (disambiguation). State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations …   Wikipedia

  • Capital punishment in Texas — The State of Texas Death Row seal, taken at the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, Texas …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”