“Legacy of Violence: Lynch Mobs and Executions in Minnesota,” a book by John D. Bessler (University of Minnesota Press, 2003), exam­ines the his­to­ry of ille­gal and state-sanc­tioned exe­cu­tions in Minnesota, one of twelve states that cur­rent­ly does not have the death penal­ty. The book is time­ly in that the cur­rent gov­er­nor, Tim Pawlenty, has pro­posed rein­stat­ing the death penal­ty, which was abol­ished in 1911. The book includes detailed per­son­al accounts from those who were involved in the events, as well as a his­to­ry of Minnesota’s anti-exe­cu­tion and anti-lynch­ing move­ments, a review of his­tor­i­cal wrong­ful con­vic­tions, and an analy­sis of the role that the media played in the death penal­ty debate. The author recounts the details of the largest mass exe­cu­tion in the U.S. of 38 Native Americans in Mankato in 1862 at the order of President Lincoln, and the bru­tal lynch­ing in Duluth of 3 African-Americans accused of rape.

(University of Minnesota Press, 2003) See Resources.

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