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The Execution That Ended the Gallows: The Murder of Amasa Sprague (Rhode Island)
On New Year's Eve 1843, Rhode Island's most powerful industrialist was found brutally beaten to death along the Pocasset River. His pockets were still full of cash, making one thing immediately clear: this wasn't robbery... it was revenge. What followed became one of the darkest chapters in American legal history, as prejudice, political influence, and a corrupt court system sent an innocent Irish immigrant to the gallows. Tonight, we unravel the murder of Amasa Sprague, the execution of John Gordon, and the wrongful conviction that ultimately led Rhode Island to abolish the death penalty…
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