Legacy of Violence

by Bessler, John D.

• ISBN13: 9780816638109
• ISBN10: 0816638101
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr

Summary

The first comprehensive history of lynchings and state-sanctioned executions in Minnesota. Minnesota is one of only twelve states that does not allow the death penalty, but that was not always the case. In fact, until 1911 executions in the state were legal and frequently carried out. In Legacy of Violence, John D. Bessler takes us on a compelling journey through the history of lynchings and state-sanctioned executions that dramatically shaped Minnesota's past. Through personal accounts of those involved with the events, Bessler traces the history of both famous and lesser-known executions and lynchings in Minnesota, the state's anti-death penalty and anti-lynching movements, and the role of the media in the death penalty debate. Bessler reveals Abraham Lincoln's thoughts as he ordered the largest mass execution in U.S. history of thirty-eight Indians in Mankato after the Dakota Conflict of 1862. He recounts the events surrounding the death of Ann Bilansky, the only woman ever executed in Minnesota, and the infamous botched hanging of William Williams, which le

Author Biography

John D. Bessler is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xv
Lynch Mobs and Public Hangings	1	(24)
On Lincoln's Orders: Mankato's Mass Hanging	25	(42)
The Execution of Ann Bilansky	67	(26)
The Gallows Reconsidered: Executions versus Life Sentences	93	(20)
The ``Midnight Assassination Law''	113	(28)
The Botched Hanging of William Williams	141	(20)
The Abolition of Capital Punishment	161	(22)
A Travesty of Justice: The Duluth Lynchings	183	(42)
Conclusion	225	(6)
Notes	231	(56)
Index	287