An approach to the case-law of the Supreme Court on the death penalty in Spain in the ordinary jurisdiction in the first third of the 20th century (1901-1936)

Abstract

This paper studies the jurisprudence of the Spanish Supreme Court on the death penalty in the period 1901 to 1936, based on the study of 466 sentences seen in cassation by the Spanish Supreme Court. From the criminal legislation on the death penalty in that period, a balance is made of the crimes and the circumstances modifying criminal responsibility considered in those sentences. It is a contribution to the knowledge of the prosecution of the death penalty in that period and to the knowledge of the jurisprudential doctrine of the Supreme Court on this matter in Spain between 1901 and 1936. In the second part of the article, some of the main jurisprudential contributions in relation to the death penalty provided by the Supreme Court in those cassation rulings are extracted in an orderly fashion. The article concludes with a bibliographical appendix and a complete table with the basic information provided by the 466 judgments located and studied. It thus represents a contribution to the study of the death penalty and its prosecution during this period, as well as to knowledge of the Supreme Court's jurisprudential doctrine on capital punishment between 1901 and 1936.