Going, Going, Gone

Abstract

This chapter explores the diminishing use of the death penalty in the United States in the modern era. During the early 1800s, executions were practically celebrations, with merchants selling souvenirs and alcohol to thousands of onlookers. Such spectacles, which often included cursing at the widow and tearing down the scaffold and cutting the rope, prompted states to require private hangings. By the middle of the century, a majority had determined that executions were bringing out the worst in its citizenry. Despite excessive costs, bad lawyering, discrimination, procedural mistakes, and horrifyingly botched killings, execution in the United States persists—for now. Although 60% of the states and the federal government continue to maintain the policy, only a small percentage of states are actively pursuing executions.