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 in the state. Since 1734, twenty-four people have been executed, with the last execution carried out in 1939. As of 2007, there is no person on "Death Row," nor is there a 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 be utilized 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.

As of April 28, 2007, New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte is prosecuting two separate capital murders; Michael "Stix" Addison for knowingly causing the death of Manchester Police Officer Michael L. Briggs, and John Brooks for arrainging the murder-for-hire or the killing of Jack Reid Sr. during a kidnapping. The last person prosecuted for capital murder was Gordon Perry for killing Epsom Police Officer Jeremy Charron in 1997; Perry pled guilty to first degree murder.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] 1739 - 1942

  • On May 8, 1755, Eliphas Dow became the first man to be executed in New Hampshire. He was executed in Portsmouth for murder.
  • 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." [3]
  • 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.

[edit] Furman v. Georgia (1972)

  • 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.

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.

[edit] 1970 - present

  • 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, and retaliation a person's actions in the line of duty was added.
  • In 2004, Governor Craig Benson vetoed legislation that would have raised the minimum age to execute someone from 17 to 18. Benson said:
"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] Methods

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…"[6]

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] 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 Portsmouth feloniously concealing death of infant bastard child
2 Penelope Henry 27 December 1739 Portsmouth feloniously concealing death of infant bastard child
3 Eliphas Dow 8 May 1755 Portsmouth 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

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kelly A. Ayotte, Attorney General and Manchester Chief of Police John A. Jaskolka (October 18, 2006). "Autopsy Completed on Officer Michael L. Briggs Charges Upgraded Against Michael Addison". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  2. ^ RSA 630:5 Procedure in Capital Murder.
  3. ^ State v. Oscar J. Comery 78 N.H. 6 (1915) citing Laws 1903, c. 114, s. 1.
  4. ^ Bill to abolish the death penalty from Amnesty International
  5. ^ New Hampshire Senate votes to abolish death penalty from Amnesty International
  6. ^ RSA 630:1 Capital Murder.
  7. ^ RSA 633:1 Kidnapping.
  8. ^ RSA 632-A:2 Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault.
  9. ^ Controlled Drugs Act - RSA 318-B:26, I(a) or (b)
  10. ^ Benedetto, Christopher. A Warning to All Others: The Story of the First Executions in New Hampshire's History. New England Historical Genealogical Society. citing New Hampshire Province Court Records, Case No. 20062, and Boston News-Letter, September 7, 1739.

[edit] References

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Capital punishment in the United States
In depth
Lists of those executed