ACLU Civil Liberties Union of Delaware
Defending Individual Rights and Personal Freedom
Death Penalty
Freedom to Live: The Death Penalty
The dealth penalty is the ultimate denial of civil liberties. An estimated 15,269[1] Americans have been executed since the inception of the death penalty dating back to colonial times. The sanction of death for the punishment of a murder in the United States has declined in recent years. In 2008, the number of death sentences was 111[2], the lowest level in 30 years. Still, the United States remains the only advanced Western democracy that fails to recognize capital punishment as a profound human rights violation and as a frightening abuse of government power.
The Death Penalty in Delaware--A Brief History:
- The first documented execution was by hanging in September 1662.
- DE abolished the death penalty from 1958 until November/December of 1968.
- The primary method of execution was hanging until June of 1986.
- On April 11, 1994, Governor Thomas Carper signed SB 57, mandating an execution be carried out between the hours of 12:01a.m. and 3:00 a.m.
- Since 1991, 14 executions have taken place in DE. The most recent occured in 2005.
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