1John Quincy Adams to Abigail Adams, 14 April 1801 (Adams Papers)
...penalties for many crimes and limited capital punishment to first-degree murder. To...
2To James Madison from Benjamin Rush, 30 January 1806 (Madison Papers)
...many philanthropic works, condemned capital punishment, espoused prison reform and...
3From Thomas Jefferson to Daniel Carroll Brent, 10 October 1802 (Jefferson Papers)
...a “great tenderness” in cases involving capital punishment, was surprised that the jury...
4To Thomas Jefferson from "Friend," 23 October 1802 (Jefferson Papers)
...(David Brion Davis, “The Movement to Abolish Capital Punishment in America, 1787–1861...