Capital punishment in Massachusetts
Capital punishment in Massachusetts was a legal form of punishment from 1620 to 1984, when it was declared unconstitutional.
History
The first recorded execution in Massachusetts was John Billington. He was executed by hanging on September 30, 1630, in Plymouth for murder.
The last executions were gangsters Philip Bellino and Edward Gertson on May 9, 1947, for the murder of Robert Williams, a former U.S. Marine. Both were executed via electric chair.
Although capital punishment is now unconstitutional in Massachusetts, federal crimes committed in Massachusetts may still be subject to the death penalty. For example, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death by a federal court on May 15, 2015, for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing.
See also
- Law of Massachusetts
- Crime in Massachusetts
- List of most recent executions by jurisdiction
- List of wrongful convictions in the United States
- List of exonerated death row inmates
- List of death row inmates in the United States
External links
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