Capital punishment – the sentencing of convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes and carrying out the sentence, as ordered by a legal system – first appeared in New Zealand in a codifie
Execution box from the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Drawing of Maketū, the first person formally executed in New Zealand
Death certificate of Minnie Dean. On 12 August 1895, Dean was hanged at Invercargill Gaol after being found guilty of infanticide, becoming the only woman ever to have been executed in New Zealand.
Ralph Hanan
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Josiah Ralph Hanan, known as Ralph Hanan, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was Mayor of Invercargill and then represented the Invercargill electorate in Parliament, following in
Capital punishment in New Zealand
…debate within the National Party—the Minister of Justice in the Second National Government, who was responsible for introducing the Crimes Bill 1961, Ralph Hanan, strongly opposed the death penalty, while Jack Marshall, the Deputy Prime Minister, had supported its use while serving as Minister of Justice and…
Ralph Hanan, circa 1946
Plaque at Niue's airport recording Hanan's involvement