The 12-Year-Old Mixed-Race Girl Hanged For Murder
The Youngest American Ever To Be Legally Executed
Early America: Capital Punishment for Non-White Americans
In early 17th century America, people of color were executed far greater times than white Americans. As a matter of fact, in New England, African Americans were three times more likely to be executed than whites.
In the early 18th century, New England’s hanging rates dropped. But this didn’t make things better for people of color. African Americans were nine times at greater risk for being hanged than whites. Native Americans were also twice as likely to get hanged than whites.
To understand the balance between the American ideal for freedom and Americans’ racial prejudices, we have to go back to the trial of Hannah Ocuish, the youngest American ever executed.
Hannah Ocuish’s Tragic Short Life
An illegitimate child of an unknown father — some reports say her father was White, African, or mixed-race — and a Pequot Native American mother, Hannah Ocuish was born in March…
