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The Kansas Legislature passed House Bill 66 by January 18 and Governor Edward W. Hoch signed the bill into law on January 30, 1907. The law abolished capital punishment in Kansas by prescribing life imprisonment, instead of the death penalty, as punishment for persons convicted of first degree murder. While executions by state authority were legal in Kansas from 1861-1907, the legislature imposed tighter regulations in 1872 that required the time of execution to be ordered by the governor. Kansas governors between 1872-1907 refused to issue execution orders, as required by law, effectively banning state authorized executions during that period. Governor Hoch was a strong opponent of capital punishment.
Creator: Kansas. Legislature
Date: 1907
Item Number: 208787
Call Number: Secretary of State, Legislative Documents, Box 34557 Folder H.B. 66-1907
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 208787
Collections - State Archives - Secretary of State
Date - 1900s - 1907
Government and Politics - Crime and Punishment - Crime - Murder
Government and Politics - Crime and Punishment - Punishment - Death penalty
Government and Politics - State Government - Governors - Hoch, Edward Wallis
Government and Politics - State Government - Legislature
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Act
People - Notable Kansans - Hoch, Edward Wallis, 1849-1925
Places - Cities and towns - Topeka
Places - Counties - Shawnee
Thematic Time Period - Age of Reform, 1880 - 1917 - Progressive Era, 1900 - 1916
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Government records - Legislative - Legislative acts (bills, resolutions, memorials)
https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/208787
