This petition was sent to Congress to abolish the death penalty. The petitioners argue that the death penalty is murder in itself, and that lifetime solitary confinement is more rational and moral.
In the Progressive Era of the early 1900s, reformers believed that capital punishment was “cruel and unusual punishment” and therefore banned by the Eighth Amendment. These petitioners advocated for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty. They argued that criminals could be taught morals and ethics while in prison and be reformed into decent citizens.
This document is featured in the primary source-based student workbook "Putting the Bill of Rights to the Test."This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Full Citation: Petition to Abolish the Death Penalty; 1900; Petitions and Memorials, Resolutions of State Legislatures, and Related Documents Which Were Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary during the 56th Congress; Petitions and Memorials, 1813 - 1968; Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, Record Group 233; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/petition-to-abolish-the-death-penalty, April 25, 2024]