Capital punishment in New Hampshire

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Capital punishment in the U.S. state of New Hampshire is a legal form of punishment for the crime of capital murder. Capital murder is the only crime for which the death penalty can be imposed. Since 1734, twenty-four people have been executed, with the last execution carried out in 1939. As of 2006, there is no person on "Death Row" and no death chamber.

Hanging is the method of execution historically used in the state. Lethal injection is currently the primary legal form of execution, though hanging can still be used if lethal injection is determined to be "impractical to carry out the punishment of death."^[1] Since 1868, executions have taken place at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord.

On October 18, 2006, Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte announced she obtained an arrest warrant for Capital Murder against Michael "Stix" Addison for "knowingly causing the death of Officer Michael L. Briggs, a law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty, by shooting Officer Briggs in the head with a firearm." ^[2] Gordon Perry was the last person charged with capital murder. He pled guilty to first degree murder for killing Epsom Police Officer Jeremy Charron in 1997.

1 Method
2 History
3 Public opinion
4 Capital murder
5 List of those executed
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References

[edit] Method

After a person has been convicted of capital murder, a separate penalty phase is carried out using the same jury. The jury weighs a variety of aggravating and mitigating circumstances. If a person has been convicted of capital murder and is not sentenced to death, the mandatory sentence is life imprisonment without possibility of parole the same punishment as first degree murder.

Executions must be carried out no sooner than one year after the sentencing. Death row and the execution are at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men at Concord. According to state law:

"The punishment of death shall be inflicted by continuous, intravenous administration of a lethal quantity of an ultrashort-acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent…"^[3]

It is also possible for executions to be carried out by hanging if it is found:

"…to be impractical to carry out the punishment of death by administration of the required lethal substance or substances, the sentence of death may be carried out by hanging…"

[edit] History

In 1739, two women became the first executed in the state, both convicted of murder. Provincial laws at the time required capital punishment for murder, rape, homosexuality, abortion, bestiality, burglary, counterfeiting and treason.

In 1796, Thomas Powers, an African American was hanged for rape, and is the only non-white to be executed in the state.

In 1868, hangings were moved to the State Prison in Concord, after a riot followed the execution of Samuel Mills on the main street of Woodsville. Prior to the 1868 execution, hangings were carried out in public.

In 1903, the punishment for murder in the first degree was changed from death, to "death or imprisonment for life as the jury may determine..." If the jury shall find the respondent guilty of murder in the first degree, the punishment shall be life imprisonment unless the jury shall add to their verdict the words, with capital punishment." ^[4]

In 1942, Ralph Jennings, was sentenced to be hanged for the murder of a New Jersey schoolteacher. Jennings hanged himself in his cell with his bedsheets, foiling the state's plan to execute him.

In 1959, Frederick Martineau and Russell Nelson were convicted of murdering a businessman, in a Nashua parking lot, who was scheduled to testify in a Rhode Island burglary case. When the verdicts were read, the clerk of the court, an opponent of the death penalty, dropped dead in the courtroom due to a heart attack. Martineau and Nelson received 13 stays of execution, but were spared the death penalty in 1972 when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) that "unitary trial" procedure, in which the jury was asked to return a verdict of guilt or innocence and, simultaneously, determine whether the defendant would be punished by death or life imprisonment, was in violation of the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution.

In 1971, RSA 630:1 Capital Murder, was enacted. In 1977, RSA 630:1 III., was amended so that a person convicted of a capital murder may be punished by death, instead of shall be punished by death. In 1988, killing another after being sentenced to life imprisonment without parole pursuant was added to RSA 630:1. Also, probation-parole officer was added to the list of law enforcement officers contained in Paragraph II of the statute.

In the 1980s, the New Hampshire State Prison dismantled its gallows.

In 1990, causing the death of another before, after, while engaged or attempting to commit aggravated felonious sexual assault, or an offense punishable under RSA 318-B:26, I(a) or (b) of the Controlled Drug Act was added as an element of capital murder. In 1994, killing a "judicial officer" was added to the criteria for capital murder, as retaliation a person's actions in the line of duty was added to the capital murder statute.

In 2000, Governor Jeanne Shaheen, vetoed legislation that passed House of Representatives 191-163^[5] and the Senate 14-10.^[6] A two-thirds majority is required to overturn a veto.

In 2004, Governor Craig Benson vetoed legislation that would have raised the minimum age to 18. He said that:

"When somebody, regardless of their age, is bold enough to take the life of a police officer, there should be no exceptions — we should make sure that they should pay the ultimate price. So I’m going to make a pledge as governor that if anyone takes the life of a police officer, I will seek the death penalty."

In 2006, the statutory minimum age for a person punishable by death increased from 17 to 18 years. The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled in Roper v. Simmons (2005), that it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty on people who were under age of 18 when they committed a capital crime.

[edit] Public opinion

In 2000, a poll by the Northeastern University found that 55% of New Hampshire residents thought that the death penalty should be abolished. 35% opposed such a move and 10% are undecided. This poll was published after the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-1 to recommend that the state death penalty statute be repealed.

[edit] Capital murder

RSA 630:1 Capital Murder, is the only crime for which people can be executed in the state. A person is guilty of capital murder if he knowingly causes the death of:^[7]

A sheriff or deputy sheriff, state trooper, constable or police officer of a city or town, correctional officer, probation-parole officer, conservation officer, judge or similar person, state or local prosecutor acting in the line of duty or in retaliation for their job.
Another before, after, while engaged or attempting to commit a kidnapping as defined by RSA 633:1.^[8]
Another after consipring with another to commit a contract killing.
Another after being sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Another before, after, while engaged or attempting to commit aggravated felonious sexual assault, as defined in RSA 632-A:2. ^[9]
Another before, after, while engaged or attempting to commit an offense punishable under RSA 318-B:26, I(a) or (b) of the Controlled Drug Act.^[10]

The definition of "another" in the statute does not include a fetus.

Since the state's last execution of Howard Long on July 14, 1939, there have been eight people charged with capital murder. Three were convicted, but received a mandatory life imprisonment without parole sentence. In three other cases, capital murder charges were resolved before trial, twice because the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.

[edit] List of those executed

#	Executed person	Age	Date of execution	Location	Crime
1	Sarah Simpson		27 December 1739		murder
2	Penelope Henry		27 December 1739		murder
3	Eliphas Dow		8 May 1755		murder
4	Ruth Blay		30 December 1768		concealing the death of newborn
5	Elisha Thomas		3 June 1788		murder
6	Thomas Powers		28 July 1796		rape
7	Josiah Burnham	63	12 August 1806		murder
8	Daniel Farmer	28	22 December 1821		murder
9	Abraham Prescott	18	6 January 1836		rape/murder
10	Andrew Howard		8 July 1846		robbery/murder
11	Rev. Enos Dudley		23 May 1859		murder
12	Sam Mills	28	6 May 1868		robbery/murder
13	Josiah Pike	31	9 November 1869	Concord	murder
14	Franklin Evans	67	17 February 1874	Concord	murder
15	Elwin Major	29	5 January 1877	Concord	murder
16	Joseph LePage		15 March 1878	Concord	murder
17	John Pinkham		14 March 1879	Concord	murder
18	Joseph Buzzell	42	10 July 1879	Concord	accessory to murder
19	Thomas Samon	36	17 April 1885	Concord	murder
20	James Palmer		1 May 1890	Concord	murder
21	Frank Almy		16 May 1893	Concord	murder
22	Oscar Comery	34	18 February 1916	Concord	murder
23	Frederick Small	50	15 January 1918	Concord	murder
24	Howard Long	32	14 July 1939	Concord	rape/murder