Date of Award
3-18-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
John Kirk
Abstract
As his final act as governor, Winthrop Rockefeller commuted the sentences of all death row inmates in Arkansas in 1970. This action spurred hundreds of letters from around the world. More than three hundred letters, which represented the vast majority of responses, were positive and congratulatory. However, Rockefeller received nearly one hundred uncomplimentary letters as a result of this action. The letters offered insight to various movements and events as many people connected the commutations to developments throughout the world. The letters fell into the following categories: political responses, religious responses, racial responses, social responses, victim-based responses, and responses to Rockefeller's plea for similar actions. Although some of the negative responses reported shock that Rockefeller had commuted the sentences, many people realized the action fit within Rockefeller's progressive reforms. With the 1970 commutations, Rockefeller acted on a personal code of ethics and set a precedent for future governors
Recommended Citation
Ringer, Andrea Lynn, "Arkansas and the Death Penalty: Responses to Governor Winthrop Rockefeller's Commutations of Fifteen Death Sentences in 1970" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 387.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/387
