A lot of people like to say "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," basically meaning if you kill someone you should also suffer the fate of death. But I recently discovered that Michigan was the first state to have the thought, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.*" This mindset must have encouraged them to become the first state to get rid of the death penalty. According to deathpenaltyinfo.com, it details how Michigan dropped the penalty and gave a small history lesson about it's origins in the state:

Only 13 executions were carried out in Michigan’s history, just 6 of which occurred after Michigan officially became a territory in 1805. The only execution carried out in Michigan after it gained statehood was the federal execution (outside state jurisdiction) of Anthony Chebatoris in 1938. The death penalty has been constitutionally banned in Michigan since 1963.

Shockingly, in one of the most famous cases in an exhibition of capital punishment in Michigan, one man was falsely accused and sentenced:

In 1828, Patrick Fitzpatrick was hanged after being declared guilty for the rape and murder of an innkeeper’s daughter. In 1835, Fitzpatrick’s former roommate confessed to the murder on his deathbed, proving that Fitzpatrick had been executed for a murder in which he was innocent.

Sadly, nothing can ever truly make up for the loss of a loved one to someone who committed an unforgivable act, but to some, this is the justice they fined suitable.

MORE TO EXPLORE: A Look Inside the Old Allegan Jail

 

More From 100.5 FM The River