American DP history before McGutha

As I mentioned in class, one of my questions to begin our discussion of modern death penalty constitutional law is why it took nearly 200 years for the Supreme Court to seriously examine the constitutionality of the death penalty.  Of course, that question could (and perhaps should) lead to a broader examination of America's history with the death penalty since the nation's founding.

For general historical background on the death penalty, the Death Penalty Information Center has this reader-friendly overview of the history of the death penalty.  In addition, I wrote this introduction to an OSLJ symposium on capital punishment that highlights that "America's history with the death penalty has been a story primarily about, and directed by, legislative developments."