Execution
Execution names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Execution MILITARY, a technical term
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
MILITARY, a technical term, signifying the carrying out of the decision of any military court, not necessarily a death sentence. Military laws and their execution , or administration, are quite separate and distinct from the civil laws of the same territory, the former having as their special object the maintenance of military organization and discipline. The offenses covered are , therefore, of a peculiar nature, such as desertion, absence without leave, disobeorders, neglect dience, or refusal to obey orders, rs, "conduct of duty, and, among officers, unbecoming that of a gentleman ." Those subject to the jurisdiction of military law are, first of all, officers and soldiers on the active list, in the pay of the Government, whether of the regular army or the militia; retired officers and soldiers; discharged officers or soldiers who have defrauded the Government; and general prisoners. In time of war certain civilians may be included , such as those suspected of being spies in the pay of the enemy, and camp followers. Punishments range from imprisonment, dishonorable dismissal or discharge, to death. Before the decree of a military court may be executed it must first be what is termed confirmed. In the British army cases. this confirmation is done by a special officer representing the King, but in the United States army the highest commanding officer of the department is com- Where a court sentences an offipetent to confirm a sentence in ordinary cer to dismissal from the service, however, the confirmation must be signed by the President of the United States himself, and this rule applies also to death sentences, except in very special cases.
Execution the carrying out of a death sentence by court order
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the carrying out of a death sentence by court order. Such cruel methods, as burning at the stake, starving, drowning, poisoning, bleeding to death, breaking on the wheel, etc., are no longer employed as modes of pun ment in the progessive countries. In Belgium, Holland , Norway, Portugal Rumania, Finland , Argentine, Brazil, Venezuela, Guatemala , and Ecuador life imprisonment is the heaviest punishment inflicted and no person is ever put to death. In England and Spain, hanging is the common form of execution. In France, a death sentence is usually carried out by the use of the guillotine for decapitation. In Italy the death penalty is not inflicted in any case. In modern times the tendency has been toward the employment of the least cruel methods of execution. Capital punishment is retained in 36 States of our Union. The usual method of execution is either by hanging or electrocution. The Federal Government may punish high treason by death penalty. In most States death penalty is inflicted only for murder, in some others also for arson and rape . Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota , South Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin do not inflict any death penalty.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 it listed hanging in England and Spain, the guillotine in France, and capital punishment retained in 36 American states. France used the guillotine for the last time in 1977 and abolished the death penalty in 1981; Britain ended hanging for murder in 1965; and more than half the world's countries have since abolished executions entirely. In the United States the Supreme Court voided existing death penalty laws in Furman v. Georgia (1972), allowed them back under new rules in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), and barred death for rape in 1977; lethal injection, first used in Texas in 1982, has largely displaced both hanging and the electric chair. Collier's own list of abolitionist states has also been overtaken — roughly half the states now have no death penalty, though several of those it named, such as Arizona and Kansas, later restored it.
Written for this edition, 2026.