William W. Kirtley (December 10, 1897 – September 23, 1944) was an American anti-death penalty activist and lead defense attorney to Rainey Bethea, the last man ever publicly executed in the United States.[1] He was also the husband of feminist Louise Gasser Kirtley, the first female Kentucky State Representative (serving two terms, 1962–1966) and first female Kentucky Bar Association President[2] and grandfather of Franco-American international arbitration lawyer William Kirtley.[3] Arguing that capital punishment was the "most premeditated of murders," Kirtley was unable to convince Rainey Bethea to testify on his own behalf, and he was ultimately hanged before a crowd of 20,000 people in what was described as a carnival-like atmosphere, drawing media attention throughout the United States that was fanned by Kirtley and his wife.[4] Afterwards, he sought to have Kentucky adopt a law based on a Missouri statute (L.1919, p. 781) banning all public executions. Following his early death, his wife took up the cause, playing a key role in the Kentucky legislature's ban on all public executions still found in statute KRS 431.220. Many legal scholars and human rights advocates[5] credit the scandal he generated and the execution itself to have led to the eventual ban of all public executions in America.[6]
References
edit- ^ "The Last Public Execution in America, By Perry T. Ryan". Geocities.com. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Women in Law". Womeninkentucky.com. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "International Arbitration Lawyer". Aceris Law. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
- ^ "After 75 years, last public hanging haunts city". Fox News. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Iconic Images of Human Rights Violations (53): Last Public Execution in the US | P.a.p.-Blog // Human Rights Etc". Filipspagnoli.wordpress.com. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
- ^ "Last Public Execution in America". NPR. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
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