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1: In 1842, Switzerland’s new criminal code that abolished the death penalty took effect.
1: In 1905, Norway abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
1: In 1933, Denmark abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
1: In 1973, Sweden abolished the death penalty for wartime crimes as well.
1: In 1974, Ohio re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman, 1974
1: In 1974, Texas re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman, 1974
1: In 1975, Colorado re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman
1: In 1975, Kentucky re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman
1: In 1975, Maryland re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman
1: In 1979, South Dakota re-legalizes the death penalty post Furman
1: In 1989, George Mercer becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Missouri
1: In 1989, Liechtenstein abolished the death penalty for treason and military offenses.
1: In 2000, Scott Christianson published Condemned: Inside the Sing Sing Death House.
2: In 1972, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) was founded in San Antonio, Texas when five buses filled with family members of prisoners arrived at the prisons in East Texas to visit their imprisoned loved ones.
5: In 1993, Wesley Allan Dodd was the first person to be legally hanged in the US since 1965.
5: In 1993, Westley Dodd becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Washington. He was hanged.
6: In 1994, Keith Wells becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern Idaho.
7: In 1990, Romania abolished the death penalty.
7: In 2008, U.S. Supreme Court oral argument in the case Baze v. Rees on the issue of whether the lethal injections violate 8th amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Court votes 7 – 2 upholding lethal injection.
9: In 1953, Marguerite Pitre was the last woman to be executed in Canada.
11: In 1944, Gibraltar held its final executions.
11: In 1985, Joseph Shaw becomes the first state inmate to be executed in modern era South Carolina
12: In 1830, Iceland held its final execution.
12: In 1996, the film Dead Man Walking, directed by Tim Robbins, was released.
17: In 1977, Gary Gilmore not only was the first person to be executed since the death penalty was reinstated but he was also executed by a firing squad.
17: In 1977, Anniversary of the resumption of executions in the United States, in 1977. Gary Gilmore was executed by the State of Utah after giving up his appeals. He had been convicted of the murder of Ben Bushnell and Max Jenson. Visit www.abolition.org.
17: In 2006, Clarence Ray Allen became the oldest inmate to be executed, just minutes after he turned 76.
17: In 2007, 9 anti-death penalty activists were arrested for protesting and unfurling a “STOP EXECUTION” on the steps on the Supreme Court as a demonstration for the 30th anniversary of Gary Gilmore's execution.
19: In 1999, Wilford Berry becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Ohio.
20: In 2005, Rachel King published Capital Consequences: Families of the Condemned Tell Their Stories.
21: In 2004, Samoa abolished the death penalty.
22: In 1992, Mark Hopkinson becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern Wyoming.
23: In 1996, in Virginia, Richard Townes, Jr.’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched when officials had to put the needle into the top of Townes’ right foot because they could not find a suitable vein.
24: In 2006, Sister Helen Prejean published The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.
25: In 1993, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Herrera v. Collins that the presentation of new evidence demonstrating a death row inmate’s actual innocence is insufficient reason to overturn his death sentence if his trial was otherwise fair and met all constitutio
25: In 1996, Billy Bailey was executed by hanging, which at the moment is the last hanging to date in the US as well as only the third hanging since the death penalty reinstituted in 1977.
25: In 1996, the Council of Europe ordered Russia to issue a moratorium of the death penalty effective immediately and abolish it within 3 years in order to gain membership.
27: In 2005, the film The Exonerated, directed by Bob Balaban premiered in the United States.
30: In 1907, Kansas abolished its first death penalty law.
30: In 2006, James Acker published Wounds That Do Not Bind: Victim-based Perspectives on the Death Penalty.
31: In 1991, South Africa held its final execution.
31: In 2000, Illinois governor instituted a moratorium on the death penalty.
2: In 1996, Russian Courts issued a stay of all executions, which therefore granted a moratorium on the death penalty.
3: In 1967, Ronald Ryan was the last man to be executed by hanging in Australia.
5: In 2004, Hugo Adam Bedau published Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case, a book which brings together the different sides to debate the issues related to the death penalty.
6: In 1939, Mike Farrell was born.
6: In 2007, Albania ratified a law to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.
7: In 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled the Electric Chair unconstitutional.
8: In 1924, Gee Jon was the 1st person to be executed with cyanide gas, which led to a judge modifying it to create the gas chamber.
9: In 1990, Namibia abolished the death penalty.
11: In 1842, Rhode Island abolished the death penalty.
11: In 1987, the Philippines’ constitution abolished the death penalty for the first time.
12: In 1940, Iceland abolished the death penalty for treason and military offenses.
13: In 1906, William Williams’ botched execution led Minnesota to consider abolishing the death penalty.
14: In 1845, John Gordon was the last person to be executed in Rhode Island.
14: In 2006, Karen Miller published Wrongful Capital Convictions and the Legitimacy of the Death Penalty.
15: In 2000, Barry Scheck’s book Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution and Other Dispatches From the Wrongly Convicted was published and released.
16: In 1989, Louis Masur published Rites of Execution: Capital Punishment and the Transformation of American Culture, 1776-1865.
17: In 1957, New Zealand held its final execution.
17: In 2006, Margaret Wolff published In Sweet Company: Conversations With Extraordinary Women About Living a Spiritual Life, which features an interview with Sister Helen Prejean.
18: In 1949, the last execution in what would become the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) a little over a month later was held.
18: In 1957, Walter James Bolton was the last person to be executed in New Zealand.
18: In 2002, Billy Wayne Sinclair, a former death row inmate, published A Life in the Balance: The Billy Wayne Sinclair Story.
19: In 1965, Iowan legislature voted to abolish the death penalty.
21: In 1995, David Von Drehle published Among the Lowest of the Dead: The Culture of Death Row.
21: In 1998, Azerbaijan abolished the death penalty.
21: In 2003, the film The Life of David Gale, directed by Alan Parker, premiered in the United States.
24: In 1949, Luxembourg held its final executions.
25: In 1876, Norway held its last execution for murder.
26: In 1785, Liechtenstein held its final execution.
26: In 1999, Cyprus abolished the death penalty for all crimes, except those related to the military and wartime.
27: In 1974, Tennessee re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
28: In 1977, Wyoming re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman,
28: In 1999, Kathleen O’Shea published Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998.
29: In 1996, Herbert Haines published Against Capital Punishment: The Anti-Death Penalty Movement in America, 1972-1994.
1: In 1847, Michigan became the first English-speaking state to abolish the Death Penalty.
1: In 1847, International Death Penalty Abolition Day. This marks the date when Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish the death penalty.
1: In 1990, Roger Hood published The Death Penalty: A World-Wide Perspective.
1: In 2005, in Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court overturned Stanford v. Kentucky, thereby prohibiting the executions of offenders under the age of 18.
1: In 2005, The United States Supreme Court declares the execution of juvenile offenders to be unconstitutional - Simmons v Roper
3: In 1999, Walter LaGrand was the last person to be executed via the gas chamber.
4: In 1927, Pascual Ramos was the last person executed in Puerto Rico.
4: In 1947, Italy held its final executions for murder, but continued to execute for treason for the next several months.
5: In 1954, Greenland abolished the death penalty.
5: In 1976, Alabama re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
6: In 1991, Nick Davies published White Lies: Rape, Murder, and Justice Texas style.
6: In 1996, the film Dead Man Walking was released in Belgium.
6: In 2001, Barry Scheck published Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make it Right.
7: In 2006, the film The Exonerated was released on DVD.
8: In 1996, the film Dead Man Walking was released in Spain.
9: In 1981, Steve Judy becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Indiana.
9: In 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill repealing the death penalty in that state.
10: In 1987, Haiti abolished the death penalty.
11: In 1965, the West Virginian House passed a bill to abolish the death penalty.
11: In 1974, Montana re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
11: In 1997, Ukraine held its final execution.
12: In 1848, San Marino abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
12: In 1965, the West Virginian Senate approved the bill to abolish the death penalty.
14: In 1992, Steven Pennell becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Delaware.
14: In 1996, the film Dead Man Walking was released in Argentina.
15: In 1996, the film Dead Man Walking was released in Turkey.
15: In 2004, Utah banned executions by firing squads; however 4 inmates are still on death row from pre-ban.
16: In 1984, James Hutchins becomes 1st state inmate to be executed in modern era North Carolina.
18: In 1998, Estonia abolished the death penalty.
18: In 2009, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed the bill repealing that state's death penalty.
19: In 1998, Kimberly Cooke published Divided Passions: Public Opinion on Abortion and the Death Penalty.
20: In 1899, Martha Place was the 1st woman to be executed by the electric chair in Sing Sing Prison.
20: In 1992, Switzerland abolished use of the death penalty as a punishment for committing treason.
20: In 2004, Bhutan abolished the death penalty.
21: In 1952, W.A. Albrecht was the last person to be executed in the Netherlands for war-related crimes as well as the last person
21: In 1996, the Netherlands released the film Dead Man Walking.
21: In 2000, Malta abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
22: In 1996, Portugal released the film Dead Man Walking.
22: In 2000, Ukraine abolished the death penalty.
22: In 2002, Stuart Banner published The Death Penalty: An American History.
23: In 1973, Arkansas re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
24: In 1950, Austria held its last execution.
24: In 2005, Scott Sundby published A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty.
25: In 1997, Bolivia abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
25: In 1997, in Florida, Pedro Medina’s execution by electrocution was botched as foot-high flames shots out of the headpiece, filling the chamber with smoke as two dozen witnesses gagged while Medina's chest heaved until the flames stopped and he died.
26: In 1974, Pennsylvania re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
27: In 1996, France released the film Dead Man Walking.
28: In 1973, Georgia re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
29: In 1974, Delaware re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
29: In 1996, Norway and the UK both released the film Dead Man Walking.
1: In 2001, Austin Sarat published When the State Kills: Capital Punishment and the American Condition.
2: In 2004, the film Citizen Verdict, directed by Philippe Martinez, premiered at the Paris Film Festival.
4: In 1996, Hong Kong released the film Dead Man Walking.
6: In 1968, Austria abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
6: In 1992, in Arizona, Donald Eugene Harding’s execution was botched whilst Harding thrashed and struggled against the restraining straps for almost 7 minutes turning his body various shades of color taking almost 11 minutes for him to die.
6: In 1992, Ray Krone was the 100th person to be exonerated while on Death Row.
6: In 1992, Donald Harding becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Arizona.
11: In 1982, the Netherlands abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
11: In 1996, Germany released the film Dead Man Walking.
12: In 1996, Denmark and Poland both released the film Dead Man Walking.
14: In 1950, Alaska had its last execution.
14: In 1982, Charles Black published Capital Punishment: The Inevitability of Caprice and Mistake.
15: In 1999, Latvia abolished the death penalty for murder.
15: In 2003, Peter Linebaugh published The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the 18th Century.
15: In 2006, Christopher Slobogin published Minding Justice: Laws That Deprive People with Mental Disabilities of Life and Liberty.
16: In 2008, Baze v Rees U.S. Supreme Court case decided; lethal injection remains a constitutional method of execution.
17: In 1997, Hugo Adam Bedau published The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies.
19: In 1996, Sweden released the film Dead Man Walking.
19: In 2000, Robert Glen Coe becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Tennessee.
19: In 2002, Cyprus abolished the death penalty for military crimes, thus completely abolishing the death penalty.
20: In 1954, Ireland held its last execution.
20: In 1973, Nebraska re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
21: In 1939, Sister Helen Prejean was born.
22: In 1983, in Alabama, John Evans’s execution was botched when his leg and head caught on fire, and it took 3 jolts and 14 minutes for him to die.
22: In 1983, John Evans becomes the first state inmate executed in the modern era Alabama
22: In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled in McCleskey v. Kemp that even though statistics show that there is a risk of racial bias, it is not enough to stop the death penalty from being imposed.
22: In 1992, Robert Harris becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era California.
23: In 1974, Mississippi re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
23: In 1994, Kansas enacted new death penalty laws.
23: In 1998, in Texas, Joseph Cannon’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched when after a first attempt to administer the drugs, the vein in Cannon’s arm blew while Cannon lay weeping on the table as they reattached the catheter for a second try.
25: In 1976, Portugal abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
26: In 1882, Costa Rica established a provision regarding the sanctity of human life in regards to the death penalty.
27: In 1957, Robert E. Carter was the last person to be executed in the District of Columbia.
28: In 1993, Andorra’s Constitution, with an amendment abolishing the death penalty, went into effect.
28: In 2006, Italy released the film The Exonerated.
30: In 1986, in Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court placed limits on a prosecutor’s use of preemptory challenges of jurors, and would force the prosecutor to defend the challenge again racial bias and such if disputed.
1: In 1973, Indiana re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 1994, Mikal Gilmore published Shot in the heart, which tells the story of his brother, Gary, who was the first person to be executed once the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
1: In 1999, Susan Kilbourne published Children Behind Bars: Youth Who are Detained, Incarcerated and Executed.
1: In 2003, Franklin Zimring published The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment.
1: In 2004, Michael White published The Garden of Martyrs.
1: In 2006, Charles Ogletree published From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty in America as a part of The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute Series on Race and Justice.
1: In 2006, Jon Sorenson published Lethal Injection: Capital Punishment in Texas During the Modern Era.
1: In 2007, Kathleen Cairns published The Enigma Woman: The Death Sentence of Nellie May Madison, the true story of a woman executed in 1934 for murdering her husband.
1: In 2008, U.S. Supreme Court lifts 8 month moratorium on executions, which was in place while deciding a case on lethal injection
3: In 1978, Denmark abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
3: In 1995, in Missouri, Emmitt Foster’s execution was botched because the straps were so tightly bound across him that they prevented the chemicals to reach his heart; it took a doctor 20 minutes to figure out the problem, and then 30 minutes for him to die.
3: In 2000, Arkansas botched Christina Marie Riggs’s execution when the execution was delayed for 18 minutes because the staff couldn't find a suitable vein in her elbows causing Riggs to agree to the executioners' requests to have the needles in her wrists.
4: In 1990, in Florida, Jesse Joseph Tafero’s execution by Electrocution was botched when six-inch flames erupted from Tafero's head, and three jolts of power were required to stop his breathing after officials inadvertently substituted a synthetic sponge for a
4: In 2005, Thomas Frisbie published Victims of Justice.
5: In 1987, Poland held its final execution.
6: In 2005, the film Citizen Verdict was released in the United States for a limited run.
7: In 1998, Donald Cabana published Death at Midnight: The Confession of an Executioner.
9: In 1984, Rhode Island, once again, completely abolished the death penalty.
10: In 1947, Edward Gertson and Phillip Belino were the last two people to be executed in Massachusetts.
10: In 1974, Finland released the film Escape From Death Row.
10: In 1994, in Illinois, John Wayne Gacy’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched because of the inexperience of prison officials responsible for administering the drugs caused the lethal chemicals to solidify within the IV.
11: In 2005, the film Citizen Verdict was released on DVD in Australia.
12: In 2002, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which consists of about 52 organizations from all over the world, was established in Rome.
13: In 2005, Michael Ross becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern Connecticut.
15: In 1972, Finland abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
15: In 2005, David Dow published Executed on a Technicality: Lethal Injustice on America’s Death Row.
16: In 1996, Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued a decree establishing a de facto moratorium.
17: In 1973, Oklahoma re-legalizes the death penalty, post-Furman.
17: In 1994, John Thanos becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Maryland.
18: In 1876, the last public executions in Sweden occurred.
19: In 2003, Robert Murray published Life on Death Row.
20: In 2003, the film Citizen Verdict, directed by Philippe Martinez, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
22: In 1925, George McKay was the 10,000th person executed.
23: In 1949, West Germany established basic law, a de facto constitution that abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
24: In 2002, Carlton Stowers and Carroll Pickett published Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain.
25: In 1979, John Spenkelink becomes the first state inmate to be executed in modern era Florida.
27: In 2005, Victor Streib published Death Penalty in a Nutshell.
28: In 1961, Amnesty International was founded after British lawyer Peter Benenson started a year long campaign to free to Portuguese students sentenced to seven years in prison for making a toast to freedom.
28: In 2001, the President of Chile signed a bill abolishing the death penalty for ordinary crimes; however, the death penalty still remains for crimes committed during time of war.
1: In 1977, North Carolina re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 2007, Albania’s new law abolishing the penalty took effect.
2: In 2005, Austin Sarat published The Cultural Lives of Capital Punishment: Comparative Perspectives.
4: In 2007, Greece released the film Dead Man Walking.
5: In 1995, South African’s Constitutional Court ruled capital punishment for ordinary crimes violated the constitutional.
6: In 1996, Estonia released the film Dead Man Walking.
8: In 2000, Florida botched Bennie Demps’ execution by Lethal Injection when it took the execution technicians 33 minutes to find suitable veins for an alternative intravenous drip but finally abandoned the effort after their prolonged failures.
11: In 2001, Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Bomber, was executed by lethal injection, his being the first federal execution is 38 years.
11: In 2001, Timothy McVeigh becomes the first federal inmate to be executed in the modern era - (Federal executions occur in Indiana)
12: In 1943, Friends Committee on National Legislation was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
13: In 1962, Hambis Zacharia, Michael Hiletikos and Lazaris Demetriou were the last people to be executed in Cyprus.
13: In 2002, Cathleen Burnett published Justice Denied: Clemency Appeals in Death Penalty Cases which examines Missouri’s death penalty system.
14: In 1988, Edward Byrne was the hundredth person executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
15: In 1993, Sister Helen Prejean’s book, Dead Man Walking, was published and released.
16: In 2003, in Sell v. US, the Supreme Court ruled that the government has the right to forcibly give anti-psychotic drugs to a defendant to ensure he is competent to stand trial.
18: In 1990, John Swindler becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era - Arkansas
18: In 1993, Seychelles abolished the death penalty.
18: In 2004, Staughton Lynd published Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising.
19: In 2002, Yugoslavia abolished the death penalty.
19: In 2002, Montenegro abolished the death penalty.
20: In 1979, Luxembourg abolished the death penalty.
20: In 1992, Paraguay abolished the death penalty.
20: In 2002, the Supreme Court, in Atkins v. VA, banned the execution of the mentally retarded, thus overturning an earlier case.
20: In 2002, The United States Supreme Court declares the execution of persons with mental retardation to be unconstitutional - Atkins v Virginia.
20: In 2007, State District Judge Tim Garcia ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in a trial in Albuquerque, NM.
21: In 1995, Larry Griffin was executed in Missouri, but the NAACP later uncovered compelling evidence that Griffin was innocent.
24: In 1987, in Texas, Elliot Rod Johnson’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched because of collapsed veins; therefore, it took nearly an hour to complete the execution.
24: In 2002, in Ring v. Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for judges to decide sentencing phase in place of the jury.
24: In 2004, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that New York’s capital punishment statute was unconstitutional.
24: In 2006, the Philippines abolished the death penalty once again.
25: In 1993, the first DNA exoneration occurred in the case of Kirk Bloodsworth.
25: In 2005, Susan Sharp published Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty On Families of the Accused.
26: In 1973, Rhode Island reinstated the death penalty for murder committed while in prison.
26: In 1981, Werner Teske was the last person to be executed in East Germany.
26: In 1986, in Ford v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court ruled that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute an insane offender.
26: In 1986, The United States Supreme Court declares the execution of persons who are insane to be unconstitutional - Ford v Wainwright.
26: In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled in Stanford v. Kentucky that offenders 16 years of age and older could be tried as an adult and given the death penalty.
26: In 2000, International Day of Survivors of Torture - includes innocent persons released from USA death rows.
26: In 2006, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the state’s death penalty statutes unconstitutional.
28: In 1993, Kirk Bloodsworth was released from Death Row.
28: In 2007, a Judge sentenced the 8 anti-death penalty activists to time served and a $50 contribution to the Victims of Violent Crimes Compensation Fund.
29: In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. GA that the death penalty statutes in GA and Texas violated the 8th and 14th amendments, and therefore instituted a ban on the death penalty.
29: In 1972, Anniversary of the Furman v. Georgia decision in 1972, in which the U.S. Supreme Court found the death penalty to be arbitrary and capricious. More than 600 condemned inmates had their death sentences reduced to life.
29: In 1977, in Coker v. GA, the Supreme Court ruled that imposing the death penalty in a rape case is unconstitutional.
29: In 1988, the Supreme Court decided in Thompson v. Oklahoma that offenders 16 years of age or younger couldn’t be executed.
29: In 1995, Albania held its final execution.
29: In 2000, Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty at the U.S. Supreme Court. Visit www.cuadp.org for details.
30: In 1742, Jack, a slave owned by Randolph was the 500th person executed.
30: In 1921, Sweden abolished the death penalty for all crimes that occurred during peacetime.
30: In 1950, Austria abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
30: In 2004, Benjamin Doy Fleury-Steiner published Jurors’ Stories of Death: How America’s Death Penalty Invests in Inequality (Law, Meaning, Violence).
1: In 1867, Portugal abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
1: In 1973, Idaho re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman, 1973 Nevada re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman, 1973 Utah re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman, 1973
1: In 1974, Illinois re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 1975, Maryland re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 1975, North Dakota abolished the death penalty.
1: In 1979, New Mexico re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 1990, Czech Republic abolished the death penalty.
1: In 1990, the Slovak Republic abolished the death penalty.
1: In 1991, New Hampshire re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 1994, Kansas’ new death penalty laws took effect.
1: In 1997, Harold McQueen becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era - Kentucky
1: In 2001, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference merged together to form the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
1: In 2011, Illinois' death penalty repeal legislation, passed and signed earlier in 2011, takes effect.
2: In 1778, Ezra Ross, a 16 year old boy, was 1000th person executed.
2: In 1974, South Carolina re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
2: In 1976, Anniversary of the Gregg v. Georgia decision which allowed the resumption of executions in the United States.
2: In 1976, the Supreme Court decided in Gregg v. GA to allow the reinstatement on the death penalty based on revised statutes.
3: In 1938, Switzerland ratified the new criminal code.
3: In 1955, Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in Great Britain.
3: In 1997, Poland abolished the death penalty.
5: In 1943, Karmnu and Guzeppi Zammit were the last people to be executed in Malta.
7: In 1891, Four men became the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th persons executed in New York's electric chair to demonstrate its viability after the first electric chair execution the previous summer was horribly botched.
7: In 1993, Kent Miller and Michael Radelet published Executing the mentally ill: the criminal justice system and the case of Alvin Ford.
8: In 1925, Tahvo Putkonen was the last person to be executed during peacetime in Finland.
8: In 1976, In the wake of the July 2, 1976 Gregg v. Georgia Supreme Court decision upholding new death penalty laws, a meeting was held to discuss how to stop executions and abolish the death penalty, resulting in the creation of NCADP.
8: In 1999, in Florida, Allen Lee Davis’s execution by electrocution was botched when he was the first to try out Florida’s new electrical chair built especially to accommodate a man his size, but before he died, blood poured out of his mouth and chest, even se
9: In 1870, the last execution took place in Vatican City.
10: In 1853, Wisconsin abolished the Death Penalty.
11: In 1990, Ireland abolished the death penalty.
11: In 2006, Joan Cheever’s book, Back From the Dead: One Woman’s Search For the Men Who Walked Off America’s Death Row, was released.
11: In 2007, Elijah Page becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era South Dakota.
12: In 1995, Lithuania held its final execution.
13: In 2001, the German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty registered with the District Court and was officially recognized as a non-profit organization
14: In 1976, Canada abolished capital punishment from the Canadian Criminal Code.
14: In 1989, in Alabama, Horace Franklin Dunkins, Jr.’s execution by electrocution was botched when the prison guards attached the jacks to Dunkins incorrectly, thereby forcing them to shock him more than once before he died.
18: In 1996, in Indiana, Tommie J. Smith’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched because the execution team could not find a suitable vein, so Smith was given an anesthetic while they prodded veins in his neck.
20: In 1996, South Korea released the film Dead Man Walking.
21: In 1997, Robert Johnson published Death Work: A Study of the Modern Execution Process.
21: In 2004, Turkey abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
23: In 1997, Joseph O’Dell was executed in VA after he was denied DNA testing that when done later showed a possibility of innocence.
23: In 2000, Cote D’Ivoire abolished the death penalty.
23: In 2005, Craig Hanley published Death By Design: Capital Punishment as a Social Psychological System.
25: In 1973, Northern Ireland abolished the death penalty.
28: In 1979, Nicaragua abolished the death penalty.
31: In 2004, Robert Hopcke published Catholics and the Death Penalty: Six Things Catholics Can Do to End Capital Punishment.
1: In 1995, Pete Earley published Circumstantial evidence: death, life, and justice in a Southern town.
1: In 1996, Belgium abolished the death penalty.
1: In 2003, Margaret Edds published An Expendable Man: The Near-Execution of Earl Washington, Jr.
1: In 2004, Scott Turow published Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty, a story based on his personal journey on both sides of the system and his analyses of the reasons for and against the Death Penalty.
2: In 2003, Nanon Williams, a former death row inmate published his story, Still Surviving.
3: In 1995, Mauritius abolished the death penalty.
3: In 1996, Japan released the film Dead Man Walking.
6: In 1890, William Kemmler was the 1st person to be executed by the electric chair.
6: In 1982, New Jersey re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
7: In 1890, Anna Mansdotter was the last woman to be executed in Sweden.
8: In 1942, the final executions in Washington, DC under federal jurisdiction occurred.
8: In 1973, Arizona re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
8: In 1974, Sweden released the movie Escape From Death Row.
9: In 2002, Turkey abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
10: In 1853, the last execution in Sweden for a non-murderer occurred.
10: In 1944, Italy abolished the death penalty only to reinstate in less than a year later.
10: In 1982, in Virginia, Frank J. Coppola’s execution was botched when high-voltage electrocution caused his head and leg to catch on fire.
10: In 1982, Frank Coppola becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Virginia.
10: In 2006, Mexico released Citizen Verdict onto DVD.
11: In 1977, California re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
13: In 1964, Peter Anthony Allen and Gwynne Owen Evans were the last people executed in England.
14: In 1936, Rainey Bethea was the last person to be publicly hanged; it was also the last public execution in the US.
14: In 2003, Stanley Cohen’s book The Wrong Men: America’s Epidemic of Wrongful Death Row Convictions was published.
16: In 1996, Finland released the film Dead Man Walking.
21: In 1851, John McCaffry was the last person to be executed in Wisconsin.
24: In 1993, One this day in history, Texas executed Rueben Cantu, but the Houston Chronicle investigated his case posthumously, finding compelling evidence that he was innocent.
25: In 1972, Vassils Lymberis was the last person to be executed in Greece (by firing squad).
25: In 1992, Angola abolished the death penalty.
29: In 2005, Austin Sarat published Mercy on Trial: What It Means to Stop An Execution.
30: In 1997, Bryan Villa and Cynthia Morris published Capital Punishment in the United States: A Documentary History.
30: In 2006, Randall Coyne published Capital punishment and the judicial process.
31: In 2003, Robert Johnson published Poetic Justice: Reflections on the Big House, the Death House and the American Way of Justice.
1: In 1998, Kenneth Haas published Challenging capital punishment: legal and social science approaches.
2: In 1983, in Mississippi, Jimmy Lee Gray’s execution by asphyxiation was botched when he banged his head against a steel pole in the gas chamber while the reporters counted his moans (eleven, according to the Associated Press), and it was also later revealed t
2: In 1983, Jimmy Lee Gray becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Mississippi.
2: In 1994, Harold Otey becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era - Nebraska
6: In 1962, Charles Kelly was the last person to be executed in Iowa.
6: In 1996, Douglas Wright becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Oregon.
8: In 1991, Macedonia abolished the death penalty.
10: In 1977, Hamida Djandoubi was the last person sent to the guillotine as well as the last execution to take place in France.
10: In 1990, Sao Tome and Principe abolished the death penalty.
10: In 1990, Sao Tome and Principe abolished the death penalty.
10: In 1990, Charles Coleman becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Oklahoma.
10: In 2003, Armenia abolished the death penalty.
11: In 1991, Rein Oruste was the last person to be executed in Estonia.
12: In 1990, in Illinois, Charles Walker’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched when not only was the IV tubing used for Walker, faulty, but the prison guard inserted the IV incorrectly which prolonged the execution and caused Walker immeasurable pain.
12: In 1990, Charles Walker becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Illinois
12: In 1991, the film Let Him Have It directed by Peter Medak, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada.
12: In 2003, the film Citizen Verdict premiered in the United Kingdom.
16: In 2005, Liberia abolished the death penalty.
17: In 1870, the Netherlands abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
17: In 1975, Spain held its final execution.
18: In 1973, Australia’s federal government abolished the death penalty, however, New South Wales still retained it for treason and piracy.
21: In 2000, Albania abolished the death penalty in regards to ordinary crimes.
22: In 1681, Jack, a slave owned by Wolcott, was the hundredth person executed.
23: In 1954, Larry Griffin was born.
23: In 2005, the Moldovan Constitutional Court approved constitutional amendments that abolished the death penalty.
29: In 1910, the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was formed.
29: In 2005, Hungary released the film Citizen Verdict onto DVD.
1: In 1973, Connecticut re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
1: In 1975, Virginia re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
4: In 1946, Susan Sarandon was born.
4: In 1971, Malta abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
7: In 2002, William Schabas published The abolition of the death penalty in international law.
7: In 2003, On this day in history, the film Escape From Death Row was released on DVD in the United States.
8: In 1941, Reverend Jesse Jackson was born.
9: In 1981, France abolished the Death Penalty.
9: In 2004, Tim Junkins’ book, Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA, was released.
10: In 1981, France abolishes the death penalty
10: In 1987, Eshan Nayeck was the last person to be executed in Mauritius.
10: In 2000, World Day Against the Death Penalty, organized by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP). The World Day is the Coalition's primary annual campaigning event against the death penalty and consists of local actions around the world.
10: In 2003, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty launched its first World Day Against the Death Penalty.
10: In 2006, John Grisham’s legal thriller The Innocent Man was published and released.
12: In 1961, New Zealand abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
13: In 1994, Italy abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
13: In 1997, Gary Davis becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Colorado.
14: In 1881, Frank Hudson was the 5000th person executed.
15: In 1997, Mark Costanzo published Just revenge: costs and consequences of the death penalty.
15: In 2002, , Richard Moran published Executioner's Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and the Invention of the Electric Chair.
16: In 1985, William E. Vandiver’s execution by electrocution was botched after Vandiver was given 5 jolts of electricity, some ranging to 2,300 volts and more while it took 17 minutes for his heart to fail.
17: In 1990, Wilbert Lee Evans’ execution by electrocution was botched when the first surge of electricity caused the capillaries in his nose to burst, covering him and others with a spray of blood.
17: In 1996, Hungary released the film Dead Man Walking.
18: In 1940, Hans Vollenweider was the last person to be executed in Switzerland.
18: In 1943, Andorra held its last execution.
18: In 1984, Massachusetts’ SJC struck down death penalty legislation which, in effect, abolished the death penalty in that state.
20: In 1992, Stephen Trombley published The execution protocol: inside America's capital punishment industry.
20: In 1992, Michael Radelet published In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases.
22: In 1979, Jesse Bishop becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Nevada.
24: In 1990, Hungary abolished the death penalty.
25: In 1984, Turkey held its final execution.
26: In 2000, Katya Lezin published Finding Life on Death Row: Profiles of Six Inmates.
28: In 2004, Richard Rossi published Waiting to Die: Life on Death Row.
30: In 1979, Norman Mailer published The Executioner’s Song, the true story of Gary Gilmore, the first person to be executed once the death penalty was reinstated.
31: In 1860, Johann Nathan was the last person to be executed in the Netherlands for the crime of murder.
1: In 1999, William McFeely published Proximity to Death.
1: In 2000, Robert Jay Lifton published Who Owns Death?: Capital Punishment, the American Conscience, and the End of the Death Penalty.
2: In 1956, Honduras abolished the death penalty.
2: In 1984, Velma Barfield had the double honor of being the first woman executed since the death penalty was reinstated as well as the first woman executed by lethal injection.
3: In 1904, Panama abolished the death penalty.
4: In 1950, Belgium abolished the death penalty for war crimes.
4: In 1975, Washington (state) re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
5: In 2001, Serbia abolished the death penalty.
6: In 2001, Terry Clark becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era New Mexico
7: In 1949, Costa Rica’s constitution adopted the principle regarding the sanctity of human life.
8: In 1965, Gibraltar abolished the death penalty.
8: In 2006, Sweden released The Exonerated.
9: In 1964, the Parliament of Great Britain 5 passed a 5 year suspension of the death penalty.
9: In 1990, Nepal abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
9: In 1991, Virginians Against State Killing, now known as Virginians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty, was founded.
9: In 1998, The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
14: In 1989, Solomon Ngobeni was the last person to be executed in South Africa by the state government.
16: In 1997, The Republic of Georgia abolished the death penalty.
17: In 1998, The movie A Letter From Death Row, written and directed by Bret Michaels, premiered in the USA.
20: In 2000, Universal Children's Day (UN). This is a good opportunity to call for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders.
23: In 1910, Johan Alfred Ander was the last person to be executed in Sweden.
24: In 1820, Jeff, a slaved owned by Boykin, was the 2000th person executed.
27: In 1999, Timor-Leste abolished the death penalty.
28: In 1966, The Dominican Republic abolished the death penalty.
28: In 1989, New Zealand abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
28: In 1995, Spain abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
30: In 1990, Mozambique abolished the death penalty.
2: In 1949, Finland abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
2: In 2005, Kenneth Lee Boyd was the 1,000th person executed since death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
2: In 2005, Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1000th US death row inmate to be executed in the modern era North Carolina.
3: In 1993, The Philippines reinstated the death penalty.
3: In 1998, Austin Sarat published The Killing State: Capital Punishment in Law, Politics and Culture.
5: In 1966, Rueben Cantu was born.
6: In 1989, Texas executed Carlos DeLuna, whom was later believed to be innocent.
6: In 1991, The film Let Him Have It directed by Peter Medak, premiered in the United States.
7: In 1978, Oregon re-legalizes the death penalty post-Furman.
7: In 1982, Texas became the first state to use lethal injection for the execution of Charles Brooks, Jr.
8: In 1972, Florida becomes the first state to re-legalize the death penalty post Furman
8: In 1995, Moldova abolished the death penalty.
8: In 2005, Mexico abolished the death penalty.
9: In 2004, Sister Helen Prejean published Welcome to Hell: Letters and Writings From Death Row.
10: In 1962, Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin were the last two people to be executed in Canada, the last of the hanging method of execution.
10: In 1998, Canada abolished the death penalty and removed all references to capital punishment from the National Defence Act.
10: In 1998, Bulgaria abolished the death penalty.
10: In 2000, International Human Rights Day, commemorating the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Contact your local AmnestyInternational chapter to get involved, call 800-AMNESTY, or visit www.amnestyusa.org.
10: In 2004, Senegal abolished the death penalty.
12: In 1984, Alpha Otis Stephens’ execution by electrocution was botched after the first shock of electricity didn’t kill him, instead the officials waited 6 minutes to shock him again. During this time Stephens was alert and breathing.
12: In 2005, On this day in history, thousands of protestors, including celebrities such as Mike Farrell, Sister Helen Prejean, and Reverend Jesse Jackson rallied outside San Quentin Prison to plead for Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ life to no avail.
13: In 1988, Raymond Landry’s execution by Lethal Injection was botched during the administration of the drug when the catheter came out of Landry’s arm, spraying in the direction of those witnessing the execution.
13: In 2006, Florida botched Angel Diaz’s execution by Lethal Injection after the needle inserted into Mr. Diaz’s arm went through the vein and into soft tissue; this botched execution prompted the formation of a commission headed by Jeb Bush to investigate the h
14: In 1983, Robert Williams becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era- Louisiana.
14: In 1995, Bosnia abolished the death penalty.
15: In 1983, Cyprus abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
15: In 1983, John Smith becomes the first state inmate to be executed in the modern era Georgia
15: In 2006, Florida Governor Jeb Bush suspended all executions in Florida.
16: In 1993, Greece abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
17: In 1962, Monaco abolished the death penalty.
17: In 2007, New Jersey Governor signed the bill to abolish the death penalty in New Jersey
18: In 1969, Great Britain abolished the death penalty.
18: In 1987, A re-unified Germany abolished the death penalty.
18: In 1987, Liechtenstein abolished the death penalty for murder.
18: In 1998, Andy Smith was the five hundredth person to be executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
18: In 2007, The United Nations passed a non-binding resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. The U.S., along with Syria, Iran, China and opposed the resolution.
21: In 1937, Switzerland passed a new criminal code that abolished the death penalty.
21: In 1937, Switzerland passed a new criminal code that abolished the death penalty.
21: In 1998, Lithuania abolished the death penalty.
21: In 2006, Marie Mulvey-Roberts published Writing for Their Lives: Death Row USA.
22: In 1990, Croatia abolished the death penalty.
23: In 1978, Spain abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
23: In 1999, Bermuda abolished the death penalty.
25: In 1989, Romania held its final execution.
27: In 1947, Italy abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
28: In 1906, Ecuador abolished the death penalty.
29: In 1953, Stanley “Tookie” Williams was born.
29: In 1995, The film Dead Man Walking premiered in Los Angeles and New York City.
29: In 1999, Turkmenistan abolished the death penalty.
31: In 1994, Shirley Dicks published Congregation of the Condemned: Voices Against the Death Penalty.
31: In 2004, The Council of Europe published Death Penalty -Beyond Abolition, which details the road to abolishing the death penalty in Europe.
