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Capital punishment has been abolished in Iowa since 1965. Forty-five men were executed by hanging in Iowa between 1834 and 1963 for crimes including murder, rape, and robbery.
- History of The Death Penalty
- Notable Cases
- Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement
Iowa carried out 46 executions between 1834 and 1965. All of those executed were men; 43 were executed for murder and 3 were executed for rape.
On July 15th, 1845, Mormon brothersWilliam and Steven Hodgeswere hanged together for murder. Both brothers died proclaiming their innocence, blaming the verdicts on anti-Mormon prejudice. The 1858 hanging ofWilliam Hinkle drew a crowd of 15,000 people. The Ottumwa Courier called it the largest gathering for any event west of the Mississippi.
Iowa’s original death penalty statute remained active until 1872. Governor Cyrus Carpenter, spurred by an active anti-death penalty Quaker and Unitarian population, signed the first legislation to abolish the death penalty in Iowa. The abolition did not last long however, as a national economic depression and a wave of crime swept over Iowa in the ...
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Jan 31, 2011 · As Dick dug through public records and newspaper accounts, one aspect of Iowa's capital punishment stood out. “The method,” he says. “Iowa never did anything but hanging, and look at how...
- Dave Rasdal
Jan 9, 2017 · Iowa has had a long history with capital punishment, stretching over more than 100 years, from the earliest days of settlement in the 1830s, to 1965 when the death penalty was repealed....
Jun 20, 2016 · Commonly referred to as “the death penalty,” capital punishment was abolished in Iowa in 1965, although there have been numerous attempts at reinstating the penalty ever since. This is an introduction to capital punishment laws in Iowa.
Jan 14, 2021 · DES MOINES - Republicans on a Senate subcommittee on Thursday advanced legislation that would reinstate a limited death penalty for Iowans aged 18 or older who are convicted of kidnapping, raping...
Jan 29, 2024 · Capital punishment was abolished in Iowa in 1965. Previous attempts to reinstate the death penalty have failed to gain traction in the Iowa Legislature. Religious groups and others opposed to...
