Understanding Capital Punishment: A Quiz on Perspectives and Legal Aspects Quiz - Test Your Knowledge

during the ancient Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka the slaughter of cattle was a crime punishable by death.

in 1865, Dr Edward William Pritchard, who poisoned his wife and mother-in-law, became the last person to be publicly executed in Glasgow.

at great risk, Squadron Leader Phil Lamason of the RNZAF negotiated the transfer of 166 allied airmen from Buchenwald concentration camp, a week before their scheduled execution.

a U.S. government funded research project is concluding that racial discrimination is a significant factor when jurors make death penalty decisions.

mazzatello—a method of execution employed in the Papal States in the 18th and 19th centuries—involved smashing a mallet into the head of the condemned.

in Elizabethan England anyone opening a message in a bottle without the approval of the Queen could face the death penalty.

the execution of Flor Contemplacion strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines.

the mouth of the disgraced Tang Dynasty chancellor Yuan Zai was stuffed with socks by the executioner when he was executed for corruption.

the parents of Anna Seidel, a German Sinologist and expert on Taoism, risked the death penalty by hiding a Jewish friend during World War II.

the fate of an opossum in the Parks and Recreation episode "The Possum" has been described as an allegory for capital punishment.

the Tour de Nesle scandal led to the imprisonment of French Princesses Blanche and Margaret and the execution of their lovers.

the murder of Rie Isogai was the first single-killing in recent years in Japan for which multiple convicts were sentenced to death.

Takashi Sakai, a General of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, was sentenced to death on August 27, 1946 for atrocities committed against civilians and surrendered soldiers in Hong Kong.

Robert Meeropol, son of Communists Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, was adopted by "Strange Fruit" lyricist Abel Meeropol following the Rosenbergs' execution for espionage.

Arthur William Hodge was the only white person in the history of the British West Indies to be executed for killing a black slave.

Basheba Spooner was the first woman to be executed in the United States of America, for the murder of a Minuteman who had raped her.

Archibald Cameron of Locheil was the last man to be executed for his part in Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite rebellion.

Alse Young is believed to have been the first person to be executed as a witch in the American colonies.

Lee Boyd Malvo entered an Alford plea in 2004 for his role in the Beltway sniper attacks, as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty.

Dr. Chris Hatcher convinced the jury in a capital punishment case without having interviewed the defendant.

Froduald Karamira, sentenced to death for his role in the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, was one of the last individuals executed before capital punishment was abolished in the country.

Margaret Roper, daughter of Thomas More, purchased his head after his execution and preserved it in spices until her own death.

Nicolas Jacques Pelletier was the first person to be executed by guillotine (pictured).

St. Anne's Church in Warsaw was the place of execution of Bishop Józef Kossakowski during the Warsaw Uprising of 1794.

Hastings Wise is the sixth person to waive appeals of the death sentence in South Carolina since the state resumed executions after Gregg v. Georgia.

Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia gave away his cat to one of the soldiers tasked with his execution.

"quickfire", a form of arson employed in Scandinavian blood feuds, was punishable by death only if the perpetrator was caught in the act and killed at the scene of the crime.

Understanding Capital Punishment: A Quiz on Perspectives and Legal Aspects

1 The ________ series Oz focused on counter-perspectives for/against the death penalty.

2 In addition, in 2002, the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the execution of individuals with mental retardation, in ________.

3 "Women's Prison", song from ________'s Van Lear Rose album

4 In early ________, public executions were a very solemn and sorrowful occasion, sometimes attended by large crowds, who also listened to a Gospel message and remarks by local preachers and politicians.

5 The United Methodist Church, along with other ________ churches, also condemns capital punishment, saying that it cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life.

6 Blood feuds could be regulated at meetings, such as the ________ things.

7 ________ has recently, as a move towards EU membership, undergone a reform of its legal system.

8 ________ covered the song in the 70's, and was subsequently revived by Page and Plant during their No Quarter acoustic tours.

9 ________ is a 2005 television series, whose protagonist attempts to save his brother from execution by devising a plan that will help them escape from prison.

10 ________ or Islamic law may require capital punishment, there is great variation within Islamic nations as to actual capital punishment.

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