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Uncertain Justice: Canadian Women and Capital Punishment, 1754-1953

Carson Blair

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The history of capital punishment in Canada is a complex and often controversial one. While the death penalty was first introduced in the country in 1754, it was not until the 1800s that it began to be applied to women. The first woman to be executed in Canada was Madeleine Verchères de Lorimier, who was convicted of murdering her husband in 1809. Over the next century, approximately 15 women were executed in Canada for a variety of crimes, including murder, treason, and arson.

Uncertain Justice: Canadian Women and Capital Punishment, 1754-1953

by F. Murray Greenwood

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Language	:	English
File size	:	1460 KB
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Print length	:	280 pages

The death penalty for women was a particularly controversial issue in Canada. Many people argued that women should not be executed because they were less violent than men and were more likely to be victims of violence themselves. Others argued that the death penalty was a just punishment for any crime, regardless of the gender of the offender. The debate over the death penalty for women reached its peak in the early 1900s, when several high-profile cases brought the issue to national attention.

One of the most famous cases was that of Edith Cavell, a British nurse who was executed by the Germans in 1915 for helping Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium. Cavell's execution sparked outrage in Canada and around the world, and many people began to question the fairness of the death penalty for women. In 1918, the Canadian government passed a law that abolished the death penalty for women, except in cases of treason.

The death penalty for treason was used only once in Canadian history, when Sarah Ann Murphy was executed in 1881 for her role in the Fenian Raids. Murphy was the only woman to be executed in Canada for a political crime. The death penalty for treason was abolished in 1976.

The death penalty for women was finally abolished in Canada in 1976, when the Canadian government passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act. The act abolished the death penalty for all crimes, regardless of the gender of the offender. The death penalty has not been used in Canada since 1962.

The history of capital punishment in Canada is a complex and often controversial one. The death penalty for women was a particularly controversial issue, and it was not until the early 1900s that the government began to question its fairness. The death penalty for women was abolished in Canada in 1918, and the death penalty for all crimes was abolished in 1976. The death penalty has not been used in Canada since 1962.