May 1, 2021

History of Death: Capital Punishment in the United States (Listener Request)

History of Death: Capital Punishment in the United States (Listener Request)

This week's episode comes at you via request from listener Peter.

He asked that I do a show all about the history of the death penalty in the U.S. And boy is it a dark - and gruesome - affair.

Tune in as I talk about the various methods, how it has evolved and what the Supreme Court has had to say about the matter.

Sources Used in This Episode:

Early History of the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information Center. (LINK)

Description of Each Execution Method. Death Penalty Information Center. (LINK)

State by State: States with and without the Death Penalty 2021. Death Penalty Information Center. (LINK)

Was the Colonies' First Death Penalty Handed to a Mutineer or Spy? Natasha Frost. History.com. Aug. 2, 2018. (LINK)

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. "Drawing and quartering". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jul. 2019, (LINK). Accessed 3 April 2021.

Bill 64. Gaye Wilson. The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia. 5/1999. (LINK)

“64. A Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments in Cases Heretofore Capital, 18 June 1779,” Founders Online, National Archives, (LINK). [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 2, 1777 – 18 June 1779, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950, pp. 492–507.]

Using Nitrogen Gas for Executions is Untested and Poorly Understood. Three States Plan to do it Anyway. The Appeal. Lauren Gill. October 25, 2019. (LINK)

Death Row: 400 Years of Capital Punishment in America. Directed by Ron Meyer. Mill Creek Entertainment. 2016. Amazon Prime. (LINK)

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