The abolition of the death penalty for murder in the United States and English speaking world first occurred in Michigan in 1846. Prominent Michigan historians have maintained that two executions were pivotal in creating popular support for abolition. One execution referred to in this article of a man named Simmons has previously been well described. The other, the Canadian execution of a man named Fitzpatrick, has never been documented. This article documents the crime, arrest, detention, trial, sentence, appeal and execution of Fitzpatrick. It briefly analyzes the relationship between Fitzpatrick's hanging and Michigan's historic position on the death penalty.
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References
1.
Bellomo, J.J. (1974). Upper Canadian attitudes toward crime and punishment (1832-1851. Ontario Historical Society, 64, March, p. 13.
2.
British Whig, Vol. 6 (65), November 25, 1837, Kingston, Ontario.
3.
Catlin, G. (1926). The story of Detroit. Chapter LV, pp. 289-293.
4.
Davis, D.B. (1957). The movement to abolish capital punishment in America 1787-1861. American Historical Review, 63, p. 43.
5.
Detroit Daily Post, September 26, 1837, Detroit, Michigan.
6.
The Detroit Free Press, February 25, 1839, Detroit, Michigan.
7.
Detroit Free Press, November 2, 1840, Detroit, Michigan.
