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In the 400 years since the first known execution was carried out
for treason in Virginia, American jurisdictions have debated both
the appropriateness and methods of capital punishment. Over that
time, courts have placed varying restrictions on its application,
excluding categories of citizens (for example the insane or the
underaged) and evaluating and excluding methods of execution by the
U.S. Constitution's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment."
Critics have highlighted controversial issues, including race and
class, to argue against capital punishment's perceived uneven
application. Others have argued that capital punishment is "cruel
and unusual" in any form and should be outlawed altogether. Most
recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, in a 5-4 bare majority,
that capital punishment is not cruel and unusual for the crime of
murder, provided certain factors are also present. In the same
decision it held that infliction of pain of during an execution did
not bar its application. States remain free to employ the death
penalty or not, and if so, choose freely the method each state
deems most appropriate. In Capital Punishment in American Courts,
distinguished political scientists James B. Whisker and Kevin R.
Spiker survey this history from a penetrating new perspective.
This reference work discusses the origins and development of arms
makers of Connecticut from earliest times until the
industrialization of the industry in the late 19th and early 20th
century. The arms makers and their arms are linked to changes that
occurred with rapidity as Connecticut became a major centre for
weaponry from the Civil War to contemporary times. The focus of the
research are the earlier and smaller makers rather than the large
industrial companies (like Colt) that flourished during the middle
of the 19th century. Guns made in pre-Revolutionary war Connecticut
generally fall into one of three categories: fowling pieces, the
old name for single barrel shotguns; rifles, which are
distinguished by heavier octagonal barrels with spiral rifling
hand-cut inside; and single-shot handguns or pistols. Rifles were
attractive when there was larger game, such as deer, moose, elk or
bear, to be hunted. Fowling pieces served as arms for taking water
fowl and small game. Handguns, used mostly to back up long arms,
were minimally useful for sporting or hunting and are seen far less
often than are shoulder arms. There are probably more New England
fowlers known than any other type of American made single barrel
shotgun. New England guns vary in design because they were produced
by a great number of gun makers over a longer time period within a
larger geographical area. There were fowling pieces made late in
the eighteenth century with post-Revolutionary War era British
Brown Bess flintlocks as well as an occasional very late club butt
fowler originally manufactured with a percussion lock. Connecticut
arms had a surprisingly global distribution as early as the late
17th and early 18th century. They were found on pirate ships in the
Caribbean, in compounds of African chiefs, on slavers boats, and
among Mohawk and Algonquin raiding parties deep in the frontier;
they also were used by pioneer farmers and their families for
hunting, defence and sport. Connecticut s abundant iron deposits,
waterways and forests as well as the colony s practical mindedness
all contributed to launching an early and successful small town and
village industry. Connecticut artisans, Professor Whisker and
Spiker point out, were canny and agile in incorporating features
from French, French Canadian and Dutch gunsmiths and in time
developed their own special design features both in shotgun, rifle,
handgun and musket manufacturing.
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