This article is an brief review of the history of the death penalty in Virginia (the state/colony that has executed more people than any other since it was founded in the 17th century). It's filled with a variety of interesting details such as the description of gibbeting and the fact that in the past people could be executed for theft. For those of you interested in the history of how race affects the imposition of the death penalty, it's probably of interest that of the 1,369 people executed in Virginia, 1,119 of them were black.
Posted by armand at August 9, 2004 11:23 AM | TrackBack | Posted to CultureOn the subject of race and the death penalty, I have to plug the work of a guy I learned a lot from as a student at the University of Florida (not least that a nun's habit and electric-chair-rosary make quite a fetching fashion statement on a college professor with a mustache). Mike Radelet has been studying the connection between race and the death penalty for years. Here are a couple of quick links, but his larger body of academic work is a must read if you are interested in the subject.
http://www.coadp.org/thepublications/pub-2003-11-Radelet.html
http://www.soulfulchemistry.com/mradelet.html
Posted by: binky at August 9, 2004 01:38 PM | PERMALINK