Capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

is one of two penalties for aggravated murder in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, with it being required by the

Constitution of Oregon The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

.Oregon Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 40
/ref> In November 2011, Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Part ...

announced a moratorium on executions in Oregon, canceling a planned execution and ordering a review of the death penalty system in the state. Kitzhaber's successor, Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

, affirmed her commitment to the moratorium. Oregon no longer allows for nonunanimous juries in felony cases, and all felony (including capital) cases in Oregon require a unanimous jury verdict. In case of a

hung jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. T ...

during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial). The

governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

has sole authority over clemency, including capital cases. Executions are carried out by lethal injection in Oregon. The men's death row is located, and executions are carried out, at the

Oregon State Penitentiary Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP), sometimes called Oregon State Prison, is a maximum security prison in the northwest United States in Salem, Oregon. Originally opened in Portland in 1851, it relocated to Salem fifteen years later. The 2, ...

in Salem. Women on death row are held at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility until shortly before their execution.

Early history

The first death sentence carried out under the territorial government, apart from the hanging of the 5 Cayuse in 1850, came on April 18, 1851, when William Kendall was hanged in Salem.Terry, John. "Oregon's Trails - '

Necktie Parties "Necktie social", or "Necktie parties", is a euphemism for hanging, execution by hanging commonly used in the American Old West. Additionally, the term is also used literally, for a social event that involved selling donated neckties for charity. ...

' does justice to legal hangings in Oregon." ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', November 6, 2005. Kendall's sentence was handed down by Judge William Strong of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Cayuse Native American men were taken to Oregon City, tried and sentenced to hang. Before their execution on June 3, 1850, the leader, Tiloukaikt, accepted Catholic last rites. Tiloukaikt spoke on the gallows, "Did not your missionaries teach us that Christ died to save his people? So we die to save our people." Capital punishment was made explicitly legal by statute in 1864, and executions have been carried out exclusively at the

in Salem since 1904. The death penalty was outlawed between 1914 and 1920, again between 1964 and 1978, and then again between a 1981

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.Oswald West. However, the death penalty was restored in 1920 with 56% of voters favoring its use. From 1864 to 1931, executions were carried out by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

. However, beginning with the execution of LeRoy Hershel McCarthy, on January 30, 1939, Oregon began using lethal gas in

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. History ...

executions. The state executed seventeen men in this manner, including Robert E. Lee Folkes. The last of these gas-inhalation executions took place on 20 August 1962, with the execution of

Leroy McGahuey Leroy Sanford McGahuey (October 18, 1920 – August 20, 1962) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer who was convicted and later executed for a double murder committed in Oregon in 1961, and was considered a prime suspect in a 1957 ...

. In 1964 voters passed Measure 1, a constitutional amendment prohibiting capital punishment, with 60% of voters approving. Governor Mark Hatfield commuted the sentences of three death row inmates two days later.

Reinstatement

Voters reenacted the death penalty in the general election of 1978, by statute; Measure 8 required the death penalty in certain murder cases. Measure 8 was overturned by the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1984, Measure 6 amended the state constitution to once more make the death penalty legal. Measure 7, a statutory measure passed in the same year, required a separate sentencing hearing before a jury in cases of

aggravated murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

. In 1988, the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruling in '' Penry v. Lynaugh'' affected the Oregon death penalty, because Oregon's law is based on the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

law involved in the case. Seventeen Oregon cases were remanded for resentencing following ''Penry''; eight of those convicts were re-sentenced to death. In 2000, the

Benetton Group Benetton Group S.r.l. () is a global fashion brand based in Ponzano Veneto, Italy, founded in 1965. Benetton Group has a network of about 5,000 stores worldwide. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton family's holding company Edizi ...

featured several inmates on Oregon's death row in a controversial anti-death penalty advertising campaign. Cesar Barone, Conan Wayne Hale, Jesse Caleb Compton, and Alberto Reyes Camarena were featured in the ad. Between 1904 and 1994, 115 people were sentenced to death in Oregon, and 58 of those were executed. On December 13, 2022, Governor

announced that she would commute the sentences of all 17 death row inmates, effective December 14, 2022. She also directed the

Oregon Department of Corrections The Oregon Department of Corrections is the agency of the U.S. state of Oregon charged with managing a system of 12 state prisons since its creation by the state legislature in 1987. In addition to having custody of offenders sentenced to prison ...

to dismantle Oregon's lethal injection death chamber. Governor Brown's successor,

Tina Kotek Tina Kotek (born September 30, 1966) is an American politician and the governor-elect of Oregon. Kotek served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2013 to 2022. She was the first openly lesbian person to serve as a speaker of ...

, stated her own personal opposition to the death penalty and her intention to continue the moratorium established by her predecessors.

Executions since 1978

2 people have been executed in Oregon since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1978. Both waived their appeals and asked that the execution be carried out.

Capital crimes

Aggravated murder is the only crime punishable by death in Oregon.Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 163
includes legal definition of aggravated murder On 1 August 2019, Governor

signed a bill that restricts the death penalty to four cases: (1) acts of terrorism in which two or more people are killed by an organized terrorist group
(2) premeditated murders of children aged 13 or younger
(3) prison murders committed by those already incarcerated for aggravated murder
(4) premeditated murders of police or correctional officers

References

External links

History of Capital Punishment in Oregon
from Oregon.gov
Death penalty
in Oregon, from

the Oregon Encyclopedia The ''Oregon Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' is a collaborative encyclopedia focused on the history and culture of the U.S. state of Oregon. Description The encyclopedia is a project of Portland State University's History Department, thOreg ...

{{Oregon legislation