Capital punishment in New York
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment in New York has not been practiced since 1963, when Eddie Mays
was electrocuted at Sing Sing
Prison. The state was the first to adopt the electric chair
as a method of execution, which replaced hanging. The state is third in recorded number of executions since 1608, after Virginia and Texas. Following the U.S. Supreme Court
's ruling declaring existing capital punishment statutes unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia
(1972), New York was without a death penalty until 1995, when then-Governor
George Pataki
, a Republican
, signed a new statute into law, which provided for execution by lethal injection
. In June 2004, the state's highest court
ruled in People v. LaValle
that the state's death penalty statute violated the state constitution, and New York has had an effective moratorium on capital punishment since then. Subsequent legislative attempts at fixing or replacing the statute have failed, and in 2008 then-Governor David Paterson
issued an executive order disestablishing New York's death row
.
passed a bill which effectively, though unintentionally, abolished capital punishment in the state, by repealing hanging
as a method of execution without prescribing an alternative method. The bill was signed by Governor Edwin D. Morgan
in April 1860. The New York Court of Appeals
ruled the statute unconstitutional. Governor Morgan signed legislation to restore the death penalty in 1861, and again in 1862 to fully repeal the earlier statute.
In 1887, New York State established a committee to determine a new, more humane system of execution to replace hanging. Alfred P. Southwick, a member of the committee, developed the idea of putting electric current through a device such as a chair after hearing about how relatively painlessly and quickly a drunken man died due to touching exposed power lines. As Southwick was a dentist accustomed to performing procedures on subjects in chairs, his electrical device appeared in the form of a chair.
The first individual to be executed in the electric chair was William Kemmler
, on August 6, 1890. Current was passed through Kemmler for 17 seconds and he was declared dead, but witnesses noticed he was still breathing, and the current was turned back on. From start to finish, the execution took eight minutes. During the execution, blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled, and some witness reported that Kemmler's body set on fire.
, a liberal Republican
who supported capital punishment, signed legislation which abolished the death penalty except for cases involving the murder of a police officer.
, the U.S. Supreme Court
declared all existing death penalty statutes across the United States unconstitutional. The moratorium lasted until 1976, when the Court ruled in Gregg v. Georgia
that states could resume capital punishment under reworked statutes.
repeatedly passed legislation which would have restored the death penalty, but Governors Hugh Carey
and Mario Cuomo
, both Democrats who opposed the death penalty, consistently vetoed the legislation.
, who had been sentenced to death by Oklahoma but was serving a sentence of 20 years to life in New York, was extradited from New York to Oklahoma to face execution. Grasso was transported to Buffalo International Airport and flown to Oklahoma. He was executed on March 20, 1995.
, a Republican, signed legislation reinstating the death penalty in New York, establishing lethal injection
as the method of execution.
, the state's highest court, held in People v. LaValle
that the state's death penalty statute violated the New York Constitution. Governor Pataki criticized the ruling and promised a quick legislative fix.
.
and Albany
. New York Law School
Professor and death penalty advocate Robert Blecker advocated strongly in favor of reinstatement, while Manhattan District Attorney
Robert M. Morgenthau
strongly opposed reinstatement.
, a prosecutor who had stated in her autobiography that in one case, she would have been willing to give a lethal injection to a defendant herself, saying Snyder was "Wrong on the Death Penalty, Wrong for Manhattan". The New York Times endorsed Snyder but expressed concern about her support for the death penalty. For the duration of Morgenthau's tenure as Manhattan District Attorney, he never once sought the death penalty in the period it was legal in New York.
In the 2009 Democratic primary in which Morgenthau did not run, Snyder ran for District Attorney again, against Cyrus Vance, Jr.
and Richard Aborn
. Both opponents strongly opposed the death penalty, and criticized Snyder for her previous comments. Snyder accused Vance and Aborn of taking her comments out of context, and stated that her position on the death penalty had changed due to learning about wrongful convictions. Aborn said he would oppose attempts to restore it, and would "lead the effort against any attempt to revive it".
successfully passed a bill restoring New York's death penalty in the Republican-controlled State Senate, but the legislation was voted down by a legislative committee in the Democratic-controlled New York Assembly, and was not enacted into law.
In 2008, the State Senate again passed legislation that would have established the death penalty for the murder of law enforcement officers, but the Assembly did not act on the legislation.
, a Democrat, issued an executive order requiring the removal of the state's execution equipment.
Eddie Mays
Eddie Lee Mays was convicted of murder and robbery in 1962 and executed by the State of New York in 1963. He was the last person executed by the State of New York....
was electrocuted at Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
Prison. The state was the first to adopt the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
as a method of execution, which replaced hanging. The state is third in recorded number of executions since 1608, after Virginia and Texas. Following the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
's ruling declaring existing capital punishment statutes unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
(1972), New York was without a death penalty until 1995, when then-Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
, a Republican
New York Republican State Committee
The New York Republican State Committee is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New York, headquartered in Albany.-History:...
, signed a new statute into law, which provided for execution by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. In June 2004, the state's highest court
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
ruled in People v. LaValle
People v. LaValle
People v. LaValle, 3 N.Y.3d 88 , was a landmark decision by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the U.S. state of New York, in which the court ruled that the state's death penalty statute was unconstitutional because of the statute's direction on how the jury was to be instructed...
that the state's death penalty statute violated the state constitution, and New York has had an effective moratorium on capital punishment since then. Subsequent legislative attempts at fixing or replacing the statute have failed, and in 2008 then-Governor David Paterson
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
issued an executive order disestablishing New York's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
.
Temporary abolition
In 1860, the New York LegislatureNew York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
passed a bill which effectively, though unintentionally, abolished capital punishment in the state, by repealing hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
as a method of execution without prescribing an alternative method. The bill was signed by Governor Edwin D. Morgan
Edwin D. Morgan
Edwin Denison Morgan was the 21st Governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Committee...
in April 1860. The New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
ruled the statute unconstitutional. Governor Morgan signed legislation to restore the death penalty in 1861, and again in 1862 to fully repeal the earlier statute.
Introduction of the electric chair
The first individual to be executed in the electric chair was William Kemmler
William Kemmler
William Francis Kemmler of Buffalo, New York, was a convicted murderer and the first person in the world to be executed using an electric chair.-Early life:...
, on August 6, 1890. Current was passed through Kemmler for 17 seconds and he was declared dead, but witnesses noticed he was still breathing, and the current was turned back on. From start to finish, the execution took eight minutes. During the execution, blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled, and some witness reported that Kemmler's body set on fire.
Restrictions
In 1965, Governor Nelson RockefellerNelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, a liberal Republican
Rockefeller Republican
Rockefeller Republican refers to a faction of the United States Republican Party who held moderate to liberal views similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller...
who supported capital punishment, signed legislation which abolished the death penalty except for cases involving the murder of a police officer.
Furman v. Georgia
In the July 1972 decision in Furman v. GeorgiaFurman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
, the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
declared all existing death penalty statutes across the United States unconstitutional. The moratorium lasted until 1976, when the Court ruled in Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia, Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 153 , reaffirmed the United States Supreme Court's acceptance of the use of the death penalty in the United States, upholding, in particular, the death sentence imposed on Troy Leon...
that states could resume capital punishment under reworked statutes.
Gubernatorial vetoes
From 1978 until 1994, the New York LegislatureNew York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
repeatedly passed legislation which would have restored the death penalty, but Governors Hugh Carey
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey was an American attorney, the 51st Governor of New York from 1975 to 1982, and a seven-term United States Representative .- Early life :...
and Mario Cuomo
Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo served as the 52nd Governor of New York from 1983 to 1994, and is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York.-Early life:...
, both Democrats who opposed the death penalty, consistently vetoed the legislation.
Grasso extradition and execution
On January 11, 1995, convicted killer Thomas J. GrassoThomas J. Grasso
Thomas J. Grasso was a 34-year-old white male executed by lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, Oklahoma USA on the March 20, 1995, for a double murder....
, who had been sentenced to death by Oklahoma but was serving a sentence of 20 years to life in New York, was extradited from New York to Oklahoma to face execution. Grasso was transported to Buffalo International Airport and flown to Oklahoma. He was executed on March 20, 1995.
Restoration
In 1995, fulfilling a campaign promise, newly elected Governor George PatakiGeorge Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
, a Republican, signed legislation reinstating the death penalty in New York, establishing lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
as the method of execution.
Statute declared unconstitutional
On June 24, 2004, the New York Court of AppealsNew York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
, the state's highest court, held in People v. LaValle
People v. LaValle
People v. LaValle, 3 N.Y.3d 88 , was a landmark decision by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the U.S. state of New York, in which the court ruled that the state's death penalty statute was unconstitutional because of the statute's direction on how the jury was to be instructed...
that the state's death penalty statute violated the New York Constitution. Governor Pataki criticized the ruling and promised a quick legislative fix.
Last death sentence commuted
In 2007, the New York Court of Appeals heard arguments in People v. John Taylor, and, in rejecting the arguments of the Queens District Attorney, commuted the sentence to life without parole, leaving New York with an empty death rowDeath row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
.
Public hearings
Between December 2004 and February 2005, public hearings were held in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. New York Law School
New York Law School
New York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...
Professor and death penalty advocate Robert Blecker advocated strongly in favor of reinstatement, while Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
Robert M. Morgenthau
Robert M. Morgenthau
Robert Morris Morgenthau is an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County, the borough of Manhattan.-Early life:...
strongly opposed reinstatement.
Political significance in Manhattan District Attorney election
In the 2005 Democratic primary for Manhattan District Attorney, incumbent Robert Morgenthau's campaign produced television advertisements criticizing opponent Leslie Crocker SnyderLeslie Crocker Snyder
Leslie Crocker Snyder is an American lawyer and former judge, most notable for her challenge of Robert Morgenthau in the Democratic Party primary for the Manhattan District Attorney election in 2005. Morgenthau did not seek re-election in 2009. Snyder ran again. Once again she finished second,...
, a prosecutor who had stated in her autobiography that in one case, she would have been willing to give a lethal injection to a defendant herself, saying Snyder was "Wrong on the Death Penalty, Wrong for Manhattan". The New York Times endorsed Snyder but expressed concern about her support for the death penalty. For the duration of Morgenthau's tenure as Manhattan District Attorney, he never once sought the death penalty in the period it was legal in New York.
In the 2009 Democratic primary in which Morgenthau did not run, Snyder ran for District Attorney again, against Cyrus Vance, Jr.
Cyrus Vance, Jr.
Cyrus Roberts Vance, Jr. is an American trial lawyer. He is the incumbent New York County District Attorney , and was previously a principal at the law firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Isaon, Anello & Bohrer, P.C...
and Richard Aborn
Richard Aborn
Richard Aborn was a candidate for Manhattan district attorney while on leave from his position as the president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, a partner in the law firm Constantine Cannon, and the managing director of Constantine & Aborn Advisory Services where he works with...
. Both opponents strongly opposed the death penalty, and criticized Snyder for her previous comments. Snyder accused Vance and Aborn of taking her comments out of context, and stated that her position on the death penalty had changed due to learning about wrongful convictions. Aborn said he would oppose attempts to restore it, and would "lead the effort against any attempt to revive it".
Legislative efforts to reinstate the death penalty
In 2005, supporters of the death penalty in the New York LegislatureNew York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
successfully passed a bill restoring New York's death penalty in the Republican-controlled State Senate, but the legislation was voted down by a legislative committee in the Democratic-controlled New York Assembly, and was not enacted into law.
In 2008, the State Senate again passed legislation that would have established the death penalty for the murder of law enforcement officers, but the Assembly did not act on the legislation.
Death row disestablished
In 2008, Governor David PatersonDavid Paterson
David Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
, a Democrat, issued an executive order requiring the removal of the state's execution equipment.