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…

Lynching announcement. John Hartfield will be lynched.

The article is a full page. The article demonstrates the level of mob justice and racial violence and how such culture impacted executions, legal and…

George Stinney Jr., 1944. Dept. of Corrections,
Central Correctional Institution, Record of Prisoners
Awaiting Execution.

Mug shot of a young black man. George wears a baggy striped prisoner uniform with a placard labeled "260" hanging from his chest.

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.

Execution of Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt

In the 19th century, some U.S. states reduced capital crimes, moved executions out of the public eye, or abolished the death penalty, with Michigan…

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

Execution of H H Holmes

An illustration of Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, capturing the execution of H. H. Holmes. The scene depicts Holmes delivering his…

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…