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First recorded execution in the colonies
Captain George Kendall becomes the first recorded execution in the new colonies. -
Death Penalty in the 13 Colonies
By the start of the American Revolution, the death penalty was used in all 13 colonies. Rhode Island was the only colony that did not have at least 10 crimes punishable by death. -
Private exectutions
Pennsylvania became the first state to move executions away from the public eye and carrying them out in correctional facilities. -
The American Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment,
The first national death penalty abolition society, the American Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment, is founded -
Aboishment of the death penalty
Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason -
Supreme Court Finds Death Penalty to Be an Excessive Punishment for Rape Crimes
The Supreme Court held a 7-2 vote on June 29, 1977, reversed the sentence, finding the death penalty disproportionate to the crime of raping an adult woman.