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 abolished in the
District of Columbia
)
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. However, a number of executions were carried out under the District's jurisdiction before abolition. These executions should be distinguished from cases such as the
1942 execution of the six Nazi saboteurs which took place in the District, but
under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.
History
Before 1973, the
District of Columbia
)
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was exclusively governed by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, which included establishing all local laws. Until 1962, the District of Columbia was the last jurisdiction in the United States with mandatory death sentences for first-degree murder (the last state with mandatory death sentences for first degree murder was
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
). Mandatory death sentences were abolished by the HR5143 (PL87-423), signed into law by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
on March 22, 1962. Rape was also a capital offense.
The D.C.
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 ...
law was nullified by the
Supreme Court decision in ''
Furman v. Georgia
''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all then existing legal constructions for the death penalty in the United States. It was 5–4 decision, with each memb ...
'' in 1972 and formally repealed by the
D.C. Council in 1981. In the 1992 Congress-ordered referendum, District residents voted against reinstating the death penalty (the District is a
liberal stronghold which usually give at least 85% of its votes to the Democratic candidate in presidential elections). In 1997,
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Marion Barry
Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as the second and fourth mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served ...
proposed a bill allowing capital punishment for the murder of public safety employees, which was rejected by the Council's Judiciary Committee.
The first recorded execution in District of Columbia, was the
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 ...
of James McGirk in 1802. Hanging was the method of execution used in the District until 1928, when it was replaced by the electric chair.
The last execution under the authority of the District took place in 1957, when Robert Carter was executed.
The
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
has sole pardoning power in the District.
See also
*
List of people executed by the District of Columbia
*
Crime in Washington, D.C.
*
Government of the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia has a mayor–council government that operates under Article One of the United States Constitution and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The Home Rule Act devolves certain powers of the United States Congress to ...
References
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
History of the District of Columbia
{{CapPun-US