John Gordon (murderer)

John Gordon (murderer)

John Gordon (died 13 February 1845) was the last person executed by Rhode Island. His execution has been ascribed by some researchers to anti-Roman Catholic and anti-Irish immigrant bias.

In 1844, Gordon was tried and convicted for the 31 December 1843 beating murder of Amasa Sprague, a Cranston textile factory owner. Sprague was a member of a prominent Rhode Island family: his brother William was a United States senator. Six months before his murder, Amasa Sprague had used his family's political influence to have Cranston resident Nicholas Gordon's liquor license removed by the city council. (Sprague's employees were habitually getting drunk at Gordon's premises.) Nicholas Gordon was the brother of John Gordon; both were Roman Catholic immigrants from Ireland. Nicholas, John and William Gordon (another brother) were all tried for murder, but only John was convicted. William was found not guilty and in Nicholas's case, held after John's execution, the jury was hung. John Gordon was executed by hanging in the state jail in Providence.

Seven years after Gordon's execution, Rhode Island abolished the death penalty. Although it was reintroduced in 1872, no executions took place before capital punishment was abolished again by the state in 1984. In the 1990s, when the Rhode Island General Assembly considered reinstating the death penalty, Gordon's case was used by those against reinstatement to demonstrate the dangers of capital punishment.

References

*Charles G. Hoffmann and Tess Hoffmann (1998). "Brotherly Love: Murder and the Politics of Prejudice in Nineteenth-Century Rhode Island" (Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, ISBN 1558491635)
*Scott MacKay, [http://www.projo.com/news/content/death_penalty_case_05-25-08_TCA892N_v56.2f760d1.html "Judge’s old notes shed light on last execution in R.I."] , "Providence Journal", 2008-05-25


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Gordon — may refer to:Members of the aristocracy*John Gordon, 11th Earl of Sutherland (1525 ndash;1567) *John Gordon, 13th Earl of Sutherland (1576 ndash;1615) *John Gordon, 1st Viscount of Melgum (d. 1630) *John Gordon, 1st Viscount of Kenmure (1599… …   Wikipedia

  • John Gordon Purvis — Jr. (born 1942) is an innocent man who spent nine years inprison for a murder he did not commit. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health res=9F0CE4DF1F3EF934A25752C0A965958260] Man Imprisoned 9 Years in Killing Is Freed as 2… …   Wikipedia

  • John Constantine — Cover to Hellblazer #189 (December 2003). Art by Tim Bradstreet. Publication information Publisher …   Wikipedia

  • Gordon Northcott — Gordon Stewart Northcott Gordon Stewart Northcott (* 1906 in Saskatchewan, Kanada; † 2. Oktober 1930 im Staatsgefängnis San Quentin, Marin County, USA) war ein kanadischer Serienmörder. Er wuchs in British Columbia in Kanada auf. 1924 zog er mit… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Cassavetes — Infobox actor name = John Cassavetes caption = Cassavetes appearing as Johnny Staccato in the critically acclaimed TV series of the same name birthname = John Nicholas Cassavetes birthdate = birth date|1929|12|9|mf=y location = New York, New York …   Wikipedia

  • John Munch — Sgt. John Munch Law Order character First appearance Gone for Goode ( …   Wikipedia

  • Edward John Eyre — (* 5. August 1815 in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, oder Hornsea, Yorkshire; † 30. November 1901 in Walreddon Manor in Devon) war ein englischer Forschungsreisender in Australien und Politiker. Bekannt wurde er durch seine Expedition …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • George Gordon Byron's early life — George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron‎, also known as Lord Byron, was born 22 January 1788 in London, England, and raised by his mother, Catherine Gordon, in Aberdeen. His life was complicated by his father, who died deep in debt when he was a… …   Wikipedia

  • Edward John Eyre — Infobox Person name = Edward John Eyre image size = 200px birth date =August 5, 1815 birth place = flagicon|England Whipsnade, England death date = November 30, 1901 death place = flagicon|England Yorkshire, England occupation = Explorer of… …   Wikipedia

  • And Then There Were None — For other uses, see And Then There Were None (disambiguation). And Then There Were None   …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”