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Quiz about Legal Murder A History of the Death Penalty

Legal Murder: A History of the Death Penalty Quiz for Experts | Specialized History

Love it or hate it, some countries still apply the capital punishment. Let's learn a bit about its history.

A multiple-choice quiz by Caeiro. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Caeiro

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
325,394

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
459

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which was the first American state to abolish the death penalty? Hint

Alaska

Michigan

Virginia

Wisconsin

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which of the following countries first abolished the death penalty completely? Hint

France

Portugal

United Kingdom

China

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of the following methods of capital punishment was never used in the United States? Hint

Beheading

Gas chamber

Electric chair

Hanging

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Question 4 of 10

4. In ancient Rome, many Christians were condemned to death by a method known as "damnatio ad bestias". How did they die? Hint

They were boiled to death

They were poisoned

They were crucified

They were killed by animals

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Question 5 of 10

5. The Greek philosopher Socrates was condemned to death and had to drink a mixture containing a poisonous plant. What was that plant? Hint

Poison Ivy

Jimson weed

Cilantro

Hemlock

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which of the following serial killers was NOT sentenced to death? Hint

Jeffrey Dahmer

Charles Manson

John Wayne Gacy

Ted Bundy

7. In 1881, the state of New York decided that hanging was a barbarian method of capital punishment, and organized a committee to find a more humane way of executing people. What method did that committee recomend? Hint

Electric chair

Lethal injection

Gas chamber

Shooting

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Question 8 of 10

8. Immurement consists in locking the convict in a room and letting him (or her) starve to death (or closing all air entrances and asphyxiating him/her). It was abandoned long ago as an execution method, for being considered too inhumane. Which year did the last documented case of immurement occur? Hint

1798

1989

1805

1913

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Question 9 of 10

9. Who was NOT beheaded? Hint

Anne Boleyn

Cicero

Louis XVI

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

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Question 10 of 10

10. Lethal injection was developed as a method of capital punishmend for being less painful than other methods. Usually it envolves several injections: an anesthetic, followed by a muscle relaxant and, finally, a chemical compound that stops the heart. What is that chemical compound? Hint

Potassium chloride

Pentobarbital

Sodium thiopental

Pancuronium bromide

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which was the first American state to abolish the death penalty?

Answer: Michigan

Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1846. Wisconsin did so in 1853 and Alaska in 1957 (when it was not yet a state). Virginia still applies the death penalty.

2. Which of the following countries first abolished the death penalty completely?

Answer: Portugal

Portugal abolished the death penalty in 1911, but re-established it in 1916, for military crimes in war time. It was abolished definitively in 1976.
France abolished the death penalty in 1981 and the United Kingdom did so in 1998.
Even though there are no official numbers, China is commonly regarded as the country with more executions in the entire world.

3. Which of the following methods of capital punishment was never used in the United States?

Answer: Beheading

Executions by the electric chair, the gas chamber or hanging are still a possibility in some American states.

4. In ancient Rome, many Christians were condemned to death by a method known as "damnatio ad bestias". How did they die?

Answer: They were killed by animals

"Damnatio ad bestias" was not only a method of capital punishment, but also a form of entertainment. Usually, the animal used was the lion.

5. The Greek philosopher Socrates was condemned to death and had to drink a mixture containing a poisonous plant. What was that plant?

Answer: Hemlock

Socrates had the chance to avoid death by escaping from prison, but decided to prove he didn't fear death and respected the social contract with the city of Athens, that granted the people the right to judge him.

6. Which of the following serial killers was NOT sentenced to death?

Answer: Jeffrey Dahmer

Dahmer was sentenced to 15 life terms but not death (Wisconsin had abolished death penalty when he was sentenced). Shortly after his imprisonment, however, he was attacked by another inmate and died of his injuries.
Bundy and Gacy were sentenced to death and executed.
Manson was sentenced to death, but, shortly after the sentence, California abolished the death penalty and his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment. Although the state of California has reinstated the death penalty, his sentence was not changed.

Answer: Electric chair

Although one can argue that there is no humane way of executing people, the goal was to make the execution as painless and quick as possible. The electric chair was developed after Alfred Southwick, a member of the committee, heard about the painless and quick death of a drunk man who touched exposed power lines.

Answer: 1913

There are pictures of a woman in Mongolia locked in a crate and left to die of starvation.

9. Who was NOT beheaded?

Answer: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second wife. She was accused of high treason.
Louis XVI was the king of France and was also accused of high treason after the French revolution.
Cicero, the famous Latin lawyer and orator, was executed by order of Marc Anthony, after attacking him in several speeches.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former Prime-Minister of Pakistan, was sentenced to death by hanging, not beheading.

Answer: Potassium chloride

Sodium thiopental and pentobarbital are anesthetics, used in the first injection. Pancuronium bromide is a muscle relaxant, used in the second injection.

Source: Author Caeiro

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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