23 states currently have a legal ban on the Death Penalty, and it all started with Michigan.

We talk about a lot of things that happened first in Michigan.  Here are a few examples,

  • Michigan had the first paved road.  Click here for that full story.
  • Michigan is the first state to enact a law against weight discrimination.  Click here for that full story.
  • The first human to be killed by a robot was in Michigan.  OK, that's a weird example, but click here to read more about it.
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After introducing legislation to abolish the death penalty in 1846, the mitten state made it official in March of 1947 according to the State Bar of Michigan,

On March 1, 1847, after a decade of statehood, Michigan became the first government in the English-speaking world to outlaw capital punishment for murder and lesser crimes.

Although Michigan was years ahead of the rest of the United States, 22 additional states and Washington D.C. eventually followed suit.

North American States that Abolished the Death Penalty

Here are the 23 states (including D.C.) that have banned the death penalty according to ProCon.org.

 

MORE TO EXPLORE: A Look Inside the Old Allegan Jail

 

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