Capital punishment in Maine

The first execution took place in Maine in 1644. In 1876 the Maine legislature abolished the death penalty by a vote of 75 to 68, A bill was introduced by the Maine Legislature to reinstate the death penalty in Maine in 1925, but no action was taken on it. There were other attempts to reinstate the death penalty in Maine in 1937, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1979 but no legislative actions were taken upon these attempts. == Select death penalty recipients ==

Mrs. Cornish Mrs. Cornish (first name unknown) is the first person on record to be executed by the state. She and her husband, Richard Cornish, moved to Maine in 1636 shortly after getting married in Massachusetts and in 1644, Richard's body was found in a river with stab wounds and a bludgeoned head. Mrs. Cornish denied any responsibility for the murder upon being questioned, but evidence for a motive surfaced when it was revealed that she was engaging in multiple affairs. She named one person, Edward Johnson, as one of her lovers. To test their guilt the authorities used "Trial by Touch", which involved having the guilty party touch the deceased's body; if the body bled, then the suspect was considered guilty of the crime. When performing this test Mr Cornish's body oozed blood, which the authorities used as evidence to prosecute and sentence Mrs. Cornish to death. She was executed by hanging in December 1645 in York, but denied any involvement in the murder up to the time of her death. Johnson was later acquitted of murder. == See also ==