On Captain Vere and the Electric Chair: Capital Punishment, Billy Budd, and Fantasies of Sovereign Power in the Late 19th Century
Law, Culture and the Humanities
Published online on March 10, 2023
Abstract
Law, Culture and the Humanities, Volume 22, Issue 1, Page 168-186, February 2026.
While Herman Melville was writingBilly Bud, Sailor, political elites in his home state of New York were overhauling their state’s death penalty. Their work culminated in the Electrical Execution Act of 1888. In addition to changing the state’s execution ...
While Herman Melville was writingBilly Bud, Sailor, political elites in his home state of New York were overhauling their state’s death penalty. Their work culminated in the Electrical Execution Act of 1888. In addition to changing the state’s execution ...