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You're getting closer to the problem. But it's farther back than 100 years ago. I believe it was some time in the late 1890s that cities and counties were denied the right to conduct executions.

Under that standard numerous criminals were found wanting and were disposed without regard for whether or not they'd commited capital crimes (for which they'd been caught).

When executions were raised to the level of the state, more deliberation was given to examining the candidate,and more exactitude was given to which laws and penalties were applicable.

A century ago this fellow would most certainly have been consigned to prison where he'd become a block captain or a dead body.

Governor Dean was once recorded as saying that the problem with capital punishment is that unless its exercised someone else is going to die because that class of criminal is going to kill another prisoner, a prison employee, or a prison visitor ~ WITH CERTAINTY.

He said he knew that if he commuted a death sentence he was killing someone just the same as if he didn't commute that sentence.

Alas, this guy wasn't charged with killing anyone when he first went to prison.