evolving standards of cruel and unusual punishment


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, reproduction number LC-USZ62-98905

Delaware was the last state to remove the whipping post as a legal form of punishment, in 1967. The 1973 edition of the Delaware Code includes a law that made it a criminal violation to bring a camera to a public whipping, with a fine of $500.00. The picture above is estimated to be from around 1907.