Capital punishment in Vermont

Capital punishment in the state of Vermont ended in 1972 for all crimes due to Furman v. Georgia and has not been reinstated since. Vermont still has pre-Furman capital statutes on the books but these have been left unenforceable due to Furman. Most states changed their capital punishment laws to conform with Furman and Gregg v. Georgia, but the Vermont legislature has yet to do so, effectively abolishing the death penalty in the state.^[1]^[2]^[3] The state last executed a prisoner, Donald DeMag, in 1954, after he received the sentence for a double robbery-murder he committed after escaping prison.

Although DeMag was the last person executed by Vermont, he was not the last person to be sentenced to death by a Vermont court. Lionel Goyet, a soldier who was Absent Without Leave for the fifth time, robbed and killed a farmhand, and was sentenced to death in 1957.^[4] His sentence was commuted six months later,^[5] and Goyet was conditionally pardoned in 1969.^[6] He had no further problems with the law, and died of heart failure in 1980.^[7]

Vermont still has a pre-Furman statute providing death by electrocution for treason, though the state's execution chamber has since closed.^[8]

Summary

Vermont capital punishment summary
Total number of executions: 26 (25 as a state)
	Date	Method	Name	Offense
Date capital punishment was legally abolished	1972
Legal methods of execution	1778–1919	hanging (21)
Legal methods of execution	1919–1972	electrocution (5)
First legal execution	06-11-1778	hanging	David Redding	treason
Most recent legal execution	12-08-1954	electrocution	Donald DeMag	murder

Notes

^ "Vermont: Death Penalty Information Centre". Death Penalty Information Centre. 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
^ "Vermont Capital Punishment Law". FindLaw. 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
^ "Vermont Laws". legislature.vermont.gov.
^ Associated Press, Newport Daily News, To Die in Chair, May 8, 1957
^ North Adams Transcript, Goyet's Death Term Commuted to Life, November 4, 1957
^ United Press International, Bennington Banner, Christmas Pardons for Three, December 16, 1969
^ Wilson Ring, Associated Press, Boston Globe, 50 Years Later, Vt. Revisits Executions, May 1, 2005
^ "Vermont Laws". legislature.vermont.gov.