Browse Items (25 total)

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 Sing Prison.

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 illegal, at the time.

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

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

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 leading the way in 1846. However, many states retained capital punishment, and by the century's end,…

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

An illustration of Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, capturing the execution of H. H. Holmes. The scene depicts Holmes delivering his final address before being hung, sketched on-site by Newmar, an artist for The Times. This artwork…

Photograph capturing the public hanging of Rainey Bethea on August 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky. The photo shows a large crowd gathered as attendants adjust a black hood over Bethea's head moments before his execution. Bethea, a 22-year-old Black…