Browse Items (25 total)

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,…

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 issued a moratorium on capital punishment in California and ordered the execution sites to be…

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

The photograph was taken after the signing. Gov. Regan passes his pen to Sen. George Deukmejian (R. Long Beach), sponsor of the death penalty bill, during formal ceremony here. At the right is Atty. Gen, Evelle J. Younger.

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.

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

Abolitionist John Brown, about to be sentenced to death in 1859, addresses the court. Broadside sold at "The Liberator", Wm. Lloyd Garrison's newspaper.

The lethal injection bed used in the "Old Main," the retired Southern part of the Penitentiary of New Mexico.

Photograph of Stephen Vladeck sitting in a chair speaking into a microphone