Women and Capital Punishment in America, 1840–1899
Death Sentences and Executions in the United States and Canada
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About the Book
Perhaps the single medium in which women have been consistently treated as equal to men is the American judicial system. Although the system has met with enormous public condemnation, equality under the law has justified the legal execution of nearly six hundred American women since 1632.
This book profiles the lives and cases of selected women sentenced to capital punishment in America between 1840 and 1899, most of whom were executed by hanging. The book is divided into chapters by decades, chronologically following a summary of the long and heated debate regarding women and capital punishment. Also evident is the influence of the 1870s women’s rights movement on the issue. Each chapter concludes with a comprehensive list of all women executed in the United States during the respective decade, specifying age, ethnicity and criminal conviction.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Kerry Segrave
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 218
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3823-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1084-9
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1. Women and Capital Punishment 3
2. 1840s and 1850s
Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh 17
Mary Runkle 18
Ann Hoag 20
Elizabeth Harker 23
Henrietta Robinson 25
Charlotte Jones 31
Mary Twigg 33
Mary Hartung 34
Ann Bilansky 43
Executions of Women in the 1840s and 1850s 47
3. 1860s
Martha Grinder 49
Mary Surratt 56
Bridget Durgan 62
Lucy Parnell 69
Sarah Victor 70
Hester Vaughn 74
Harriet Grier (Crittenden) 75
Executions of Women in the 1860s 76
4. 1870s
Mary Wallis 79
Laura Fair 80
Phoebe Campbell 85
Susan Eberhart 88
Libby Garrabrant 89
Elizabeth Workman 93
Lodecea Fredenburg 94
Anna Hollenschied 95
Johanna Turbin 98
Jennie Smith 99
Kate Sothern 105
Executions of Women in the 1870s 109
5. 1880s
Margaret Meierhofer 111
Lucinda Fowlkes 113
Catherine Miller 115
Mary Booth 115
Matilda Carter 117
Ella Moore 117
Lucinda Teasdale 118
Emeline Meaker 118
Barbara Miller 121
Margaret Harris 123
Angenette Haight 125
Roxalana Druse 128
Matilda Jones 140
Sarah Jane Robinson 141
Sadie Hayes 143
Mary Garrett 144
Axey Cherry 145
Chiara Cignarale 146
Sarah Jane Whiteling 151
Milly Poteat 153
Pauline McCoy 154
Executions of Women in the 1880s 154
6. 1890s
Elizabeth Potts 157
Emily Boon 161
Margaret Lashley 161
Amanda Umble 161
Anna Tribble 161
Milbry Brown 162
Caroline Shipp 163
Lizzie Halliday 163
Maria Barberi (Barbella) 169
Maggie Tiller 176
Elizabeth Nobles 177
Mary Snodgrass 179
Martha Place 179
Cordelia Poirier 185
Emily Hilda Blake 186
Executions of Women in the 1890s 186
Chapter Notes 189
Bibliography 199
Index 209
