Browse Items (25 total)

Ruth Snyder in "Chair"

The woman in the chair is Ruth Snyder, who was found guilty of murdering her husband and was the first woman to be sentenced for execution in the Sing…

San Quentin Gas Chamber

The gas chamber that was located in San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California. The chamber was dismantled in 2019 when Governor Gavin Newsom…

The Death Penalty: How Do Santa Cruzans Feel?

Newspaper article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The article is split between 7 columns and lines the top of the page.

The evening world (New York, N.Y.), August 6, 1890, (EXTRA 2 O'CLOCK)

Newspaper featuring the first person, William Kemmler, to be executed by the electric chair

The Last Public Execution in the United States: Rainey Bethea's Hanging, 1936

Photograph capturing the public hanging of Rainey Bethea on August 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky. The photo shows a large crowd gathered as…