When was capital punishment removed from horse stealing and barn burning?

Before I was born, but I’m NOT sure how long before!!! ;-}

@LadyMarissa Me too. Canada had capital punishment for treason in the military until 1997.

@RedDeerGuy1 You might want to read what Wiki has to say about it. Doesn’t answer everything you want to know, but some good info!!!

@LadyMarissa Thanks I just read most of it.

My mom did a lot of genealogy, went back to like 1500s or so. Here is a tale about my great grandfather, this is the actual newspaper story. It may not entirely answer your question, but it is a story of horse crime and punishment from 1899. Enjoy.

Sheriff McCullough returned from Creston on Monday bringing with him a young man Andrew Pauley who was captured by the Sheriff of Union County as the man who stole the team of horses from Edgar Close on Monday night one week ago. Mr. Pauley is a young man who was raised near Powersville, MO. and worked a month for Mr. Close last Fall. He also worked a month for others parties in the neighborhood. He was married about a month ago to a lady named Banister who lived in Adair Co. but who visited a family in the neighborhood where Mr. Close lived but recently moved to Creston. After getting married they made their home near Powersville. It seems that after stealing the team Pauley went direct to where he and his wife were living near Powersville, hitched the horses to his old wagon using his harness, and taking his wife with him started for the place where his wife formerly lived in Adair Co. He passed through Allerton where the first clue of his whereabouts was gained and went on via Osceola. About 5 miles west of Osceola he traded the team of blacks taken from Mr. Close for an old broken down team to a man named Page from whom he received five dollars as the difference and went on into Union County. Sheriff McCullough had in the meantime written to Sheriff of Union County to look out for him. Mr. Close arrived in Preston on Saturday evening and hunted up Pauley who had recently arrived and the sheriff arrested him and notified Sheriff McCullough who went to Preston on Sunday. Mr. Close recognized his team and brought them home while the sheriff took charge of the prisoner. Pauley claimed that he would be able to prove himself innocent. The team he admits was the same that Mr. Close owned, but persist in the statement that he bought them off someone.

Time Republican, Thursday. January 5, 1899.

(He was sentenced like 3 years in prison. He came out, still married to his wife. They went on to have a family, I am one if his descendants. His crimes were not mine, I assume no blame and owe nothing to the descendants of the victim.)

Barn burning, like cattle theft, was not always a thing. Horse stealing was a hanging offense because, in doing so, the horse thief might leave the victim to a death from Indians. Once the Indian wars ended, and cars hit the scene, hanging for horse theft went out of style. Also, law had come to the west in most instances, so a horse thief could be arrested by the law and dealt with accordingly.

No idea, but this isn’t where I would go to find out. You know how to research.

Gorsh, @SnipSnip , if no body came here to ask questions we’d all go bananas!!!

Federally? Unsure. State by state, it probably slowly died down. I’m certain that such crimes where still met with similar punishment far after changes made to laws…

I can say with utmost certainty, if someone stole my motorcycle, and burned my shit down, they would likely die by my hands…

The Enlightenment brought about a huge change in justice systems. Before the Enlightenment there were a lot of capital offenses. Some time between 1700 and 1900 the number of capital offenses were greatly reduced. I highly recommend reading Steven Pinker’s book, The Better Angels of Our Nature.