Dirty details: Executing US soldiers during World War II

Research on military capital punishment is a neglected topic in criminology. This article is part of a long-term examination of the capital executions of U.S. soldiers, especially those of World War II. It briefly describes the crimes, defendants, and victims for 18 military executions that took place in England from 1943 to 1945, and it analyses the details of these executions and the burials that followed. The executions were ignominious and well organized mechanical rituals performed by soldiers who overall experienced only one execution. The executions became increasingly truncated events as the military became more familiar with them. After the current U.S Supreme Court decides the constitutionality of this punishment in Loving v. U.S., 94-1996, military executions may resume after an absence of 35 years.