Using These Materials
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
The collection is open for use by qualified and responsible researchers.
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Summary
- Abstract:
- For over six decades, Eugene G. Wanger created or collected the materials about capital punishment that comprise the Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection. The collection includes a wide range of materials on the death penalty documenting its history, efforts to abolish or reinstate the practice, its psychological impact, compatibility on religious, moral or ethical grounds, and its operation.
- Extent:
- 149.2 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection, 1754-2022. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection).
Background
- Scope and Content:
For over six decades, Eugene G. Wanger has collected or created thousands of items about capital punishment that comprise the Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection, which before being placed with the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives was considered the largest private collection on the subject in the United States. The collection concentrates on the death penalty's history, operation, psychological impact, compatibility with religious and moral values, and efforts to abolish or restore it.
The collection's thousands of books and pamphlets have been digitized by HeinOnline, a subscription-based online research platform, for worldwide distribution, hundreds of them being from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.
The collection also contains hundreds of files on almost every aspect of capital punishment, many rare or unique audio and video recordings, dozens of original death penalty abolitionist posters, and artifacts pertaining to capital punishment.
To assist researchers, a published bibliography of the collection, extensively annotated by Mr. Wanger, containing box and folder inventories, is available in the department and at many libraries.
- Biographical / Historical:
A graduate of Amherst College and The University of Michigan Law School, Eugene G. Wanger returned home to Lansing, Michigan to practice law after obtaining his degree. In 1961-1962 fellow voters from Lansing elected him the youngest delegate from his political party to Michigan's Constitutional Convention where, among other provisions, he authored the section of the state constitution which bans capital punishment. Mr. Wanger later served as Lansing's City Attorney and chairman of Ingham County's Board of Commissioners.
Beginning in 1972, Mr. Wanger has co-chaired the Michigan Committee Against Capital Punishment, co-founded the Michigan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and been active in numerous historical organizations. In 2005, he received the Champion of Justice Award from the State Bar of Michigan for superior professional accomplishments benefiting the state and nation, including his work on capital punishment. His book "Fighting the Death Penalty" was named one of the top 25 academic press books of the year by the American Library Association.
Marilyn G. Wanger, born Marilyn Morris in Mason, Michigan, is a graduate of Michigan State University and The University of Michigan Law School where she met Mr. Wanger. During her professional career, she served as a Michigan Assistant Attorney General and then as a Commissioner of Michigan's Court of Appeals.
Married for more than 50 years, Eugene and Marilyn Wanger continue to reside in Lansing, Michigan.
- Acquisition information:
- All items in this collection were transferred to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives by Eugene G. Wanger in installments from 2014-2016, in 2020 and in 2022.
- Processing information:
Processed in 2016 by unprocessed.
- Arrangement:
The collection was arranged by the donor.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
The collection is open for use by qualified and responsible researchers.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The donors' intellectual property rights were not transferred.
Researchers do not have permission to publish or disseminate material from the collection without permission from an archivist and/or the copyright holder.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright. Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) and/or by the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations. More information about U.S. Copyright is provided by the Copyright Office. Additionally, re-use may be restricted by terms of University Libraries gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection, 1754-2022. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Eugene G. Wanger and Marilyn M. Wanger Death Penalty Collection).