The Hanging of James McGurk: Washington's First Execution
The hanging of James McGurk in 1802—Washington's first judicial execution—was not simply an act of justice in the case of a poor man who killed his wife. It was a perfect storm of factors that ensured the death penalty for his crime: a newly-established DC Circuit Court, an oversight in the law, Thomas Jefferson's fear of appearing complicit in McGurk's other alleged crimes, and xenophobia.
