World Day Against the Death Penalty

  “Electric Chair… just retain the death penalty” (December 1, 1982) by Charles Phil Bissell (1926 -2024) 9 x 14, ink and wash on board In 1960, Boston Globe cartoonist Phil Bissell, working for $25 a day, was handed an assignment that would change his life—and the lives of fans of the brand-new AFL football team coming to Boston. “Sports editor Jerry Nason came to me and he said, ‘They’ve decided to call the team the Boston Patriots. You better have a cartoon ready for tomorrow’s edition.’” Bissel’s “Pat Patriot” cartoon was the Patriot’s logo from 1961-1992. December 1, 1982 On this date, the first person to be sentenced under Connecticut's revised capital punishment law was spared the death penalty and sentenced instead to life in prison. The convicted killer, John McGann, was convicted for the murder for hire of a man in 1981. Under the new law, a “life sentence” is 60 years in prison with chance of release after 35 years. Through various appeals, the case became noteworthy bec...