It’s time for part 2 of our Death Penalty series! Since this is a Mormon podcast, we first look into the history of Mormons and the death penalty. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young both ordered assassinations and fostered environments where random acts of violence became inevitable. The State of Deseret, Utah, has a comparatively bloody, theocratic history. Then we take a broader view of religion and capital punishment. After that, we look into the ethics/morals of capital punishment and give you a look at the Innocence project. We wrap by discussing your responses from Survey #1 as well as our own viewpoints on the subject.

 

Survey #2: After listening to these episodes, we’d like to hear if your insights or opinions have changed and how. https://forms.gle/Vjn48xzWgCWcJR8r8 

Show Notes: 

Trump v United States: Oral argument on the former president’s immunity claim: https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/trump-v-united-states-oral-argument-on-the-former-presidents-immunity-claim/640481

23-939 Trump v United States (7/1/2024) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

Account of hearing between circa 3 and 9 June 1837 state of Ohio v Joseph Smith for threatening to take life: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/account-of-hearing-between-circa-3-and-9-june-1837-state-of-ohio-v-js-for-threatening-to-take-life/1#facts

Joseph, in the Elder’s Journal, discusses the Kirtland  Bank and Warren Parrish and Grandison Newell’s charges against hi: https://bhroberts.org/records/5tcqZf-vSQSfc/joseph_in_the_elders_journal_discusses_the_kirtland_bank_and_warren_parrish_and_grandison_newells_charges_against_him 

Orson Hyde, Life lessons learned: https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-3-no-2-2002/orson-hyde-life-lessons-learned 

Danites: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/topic/danites 

Danite Manifesto: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Danite_Manifesto

The Danite Constitution and Theories of Democratic Justice in Frontier America: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5074&context=byusq

 

Journal of Mormon History Vol 30, No. 2, 2004: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&context=mormonhistory

General Smith’s views of the powers and policy of the government of the United States circa 26 January - 7 February 1844: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/general-smiths-views-of-the-powers-and-policy-of-the-government-of-the-united-states-circa-26-january-7-february-1844/12#full-transcript

Journal of Mormon History Vol 33, No 1, 2007: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=mormonhistory

 

The Coming Storm: The murder of Jesse Thompson Hartley: https://user.xmission.com/~research/mormonpdf/storm.pdf 

The wound the never healed: https://www.prestopreservation.com/uploads/5/2/5/3/52533793/morrisite_story_small.pdf 

Official position on capital punishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/capital-punishment 

 

The Movement to Abolish Capital Punishment in America 1787-1861: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1847110?read-now=1&seq=8

“Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedite_eos._Novit_enim_Dominus_qui_sunt_eius.

The convict's visitor: or, Penitential offices, (in the ancient way of liturgy) consisting of prayers, lessons, and meditations; with suitable devotions before, and at the time of execution. : [Four lines from Luke] / By William Smith, A.M. Rector of Trinity Church in Newport: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=evans;cc=evans;rgn=main;view=text;idno=N18328.0001.001 

 

Arguments for and against the death penalty

“Under sentence of death”: The movement to abolish capital punishment in Massachusetts: https://www.jstor.org/stable/366478?read-now=1&seq=7 

The 2% death penalty: Press Release: https://www.jstor.org/stable/366478?read-now=1&seq=7

10 facts about the death penalty in the U.S.: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/07/19/10-facts-about-the-death-penalty-in-the-u-s/ 

The Death Penalty — Your questions answered: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/the-death-penalty-your-questions-answered/ 

Death penalty issues: https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/Death_Penalty/Issues 

10 reasons why the death penalty is wrong:  https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/why-death-penalty-is-wrong/ 

Arguments for and against the death penalty: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/resources/high-school/about-the-death-penalty/arguments-for-and-against-the-death-penalty 

Death penalty debate: https://www.britannica.com/procon/death-penalty-debate 

 

John Brown: 

John Brown: The First American to Hang for Treason: https://werehistory.org/john-brown/ 

John Brown (abolitionist): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist) 

John Brown a Biography: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-brown 

A Look Back at John Brown: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2011/spring/brown.html 

Bleeding Kansas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas 

Pottawatomie Massacre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottawatomie_massacre 

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown%27s_raid_on_Harpers_Ferry 

John Brown’s Provisional Constitution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown%27s_Provisional_Constitution 

The Rosenberg’s 

Historical Federal Executions: 

https://www.usmarshals.gov/who-we-are/history/historical-reading-room/historical-federal-executions 

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg 

Atom Spy Case/Rosenbergs: https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/atom-spy-caserosenbergs 

The Rosenberg Trial: teacher handout: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/trials/Rosenberg%20Teacher%20Handout.pdf 

Espionage Act of 1917: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917 

The Origins of the Espionage Act of 1917: Was Judge Learned Hand’s Understanding of the Act Defensible? By Geoffrey R Stone: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=13818&context=journal_articles

Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 (1917-1918):https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/espionage-act-of-1917-and-sedition-act-of-1918-1917-1918  

The Espionage Act’s constitutional legacy: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-espionage-acts-constitutional-legacy 

Hi-Fi Murders

Hi-Fi Murders: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Fi_murders 

How the Hi-Fi Murders changed life in Ogden: https://www.abc4.com/news/top-stories/how-the-hi-fi-murders-changed-life-in-ogden/ 

 

Innocence Project: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/policy/innocence 

Public Officials and Advocates Respod to SCOTUS’ Decision to Overturn Richard Glossip’s Conviction: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/public-officials-and-advocates-respond-to-scotus-decision-to-overturn-richard-glossips-conviction 

RIchard Glossip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Glossip 

Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism: Speaking of Cults … Mormonism is a Compliance Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCeW3jvP-RE&t=2973s 

 

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