1846 Michigan is the first state to abolish the death penalty.
1888 New York becomes the first state to adopt electrocution as an execution method following demonstrations of the new technology by Thomas Edison.
1907 - 1917 A short-lived abolitionist wave leads to the repeal of death penalty statutes in Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
1935 U.S. executions reach an all-time high at 199 in 1935.
1952 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of treason and executed for selling atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.
1966 Support for the death penalty reaches an all time low. Gallup Poll shows nationwide death penalty support at only 42%.
1977 Gary Gilmore the first person executed in the U.S. in almost 10 years.
1994 Support for the death penalty reaches an all time high. Gallup Poll shows nationwide death penalty support at 80%.
1999 98 persons are executed in the U.S., the highest number since 1951.
2000 Gallup Poll shows death penalty support at 66%, its lowest level in 19 years. Incredibly, according to the same poll, 11% believe that at least 1 in 5 on death row are innocent.
January 2003 A study conducted by the University of Maryland, examining Maryland death penalty cases over a 21 year period concludes that defendants accused of killing white victims are significantly more likely to face the death penalty than cases with non-white victims.
U.S. EXECUTIONS SINCE 1930
| 1930-1939 | 1,690 | 1970-1979 | 003 | |
| 1940-1949 | 1,284 | 1980-1989 | 117 | |
| 1950-1959 | 717 | 1990-1999 | 518 | |
| 1960-1969 | 191 | 2000-7/1/06 | 436 | |
| Total | 4,893 |
The death penalty in the USA
Vocabulary
occur - se produire, avoir lieu
a theft - un vol
following - suivant
repeal - abrogation
poll -sondage, vote
nationwide - à travers le pays
short-lived - de courte durée
the peak - le pic
increase - augmenter
decrease - diminuer
a poll - un sondage
almost - presque
following - suivant
reach - atteindre
support - soutenir, soutien
convict - trouver coupable
