Thursday, September 22, 2011

Cruelty Free Zone

The debate over the execution of Troy Davis reminded me of one of the Michigan facts I am most proud of. Michigan was the first English-speaking government in the world to ban the death penalty for ordinary crimes (that is to say, non-treasonous crimes). One person was executed for violating a federal crime in Milan, MI, in 1937, but other than that no one has been executed by the state in Michigan since the 1830s. Indeed, Michigan's constitution has a provision stating that "No law shall be enacted providing for the penalty of death." We might be flyover country, but at least we're civilized.

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