Virginia's capital city knew poverty, injustice, slavery, vagrancy, substandard working conditions, street crimes, brutality, unsanitary conditions, and pandemics. One of the biggest stains in the city's past was the spectacle of public executions, attended by throngs. Thousands, including the old and the very young, reveled in a carnival-like atmosphere. This book narrates the history of the executions--hangings, and during the Civil War also firing squads--that formed a large part of Richmond's entertainment picture. Revulsion slowly mounted until the introduction of the electric chair. The history has a cast of unusual characters--the condemned, the crime victims, family members, the executioners, and not least an 182 pound ""gallows"" dog.
- ISBN10 6613852732
- ISBN13 9786613852731
- Publish Date 31 July 2012
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 28 August 2012
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Not Avail
- Format eBook
- Pages 230
- Language English