Search

This series comprises the bulk of Watt Espy's primary and secondary research and is therefore the largest in the collection. Initially, approximately half of these documentation of execution records were arranged in an organized fashion alphabetically by state, or by federal, military, tribal or international categories and then alphabetically by an individual's name. The others were not arranged in any discernable scheme with a significant amount of materials kept as unorganized loose documents in boxes. Espy marked some files as "not written up," but it was ultimately unclear how these differed from other records. After careful review, the archivists decided to combine all of the documentation of executions together, divided the records into five subseries for executions conducted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, federal executions, military executions, indigenous executions, and international executions, and subsequently arranged and inter-filed all the loose materials.

July 1995 article in Iowa Law Review a,d 1996 Larry Kramer book: Reforming the Civil Justice System

Series 1 contains materials Dr. Blanchard published while at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the State University of New York at Albany as well as after his retirement. The topics covered by these publications include the history of science, water-to-air transfer, aerobiology, sea salt aerosols, volcanic electricity, and surface charge. There are also materials covering his studies of bubbles, water droplets, and rain. Along with his scientific publications, Dr. Blanchard also wrote letters to editors, comments and replies to articles, book reviews, obituaries, and autobiographical articles. Dr. Blanchard published materials from the early 1950s to the early 2000s but the majority of materials in are from 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

This series contains files associated with Michael Mellos research for his publications, his legal work, or his classroom work. The research files cover a range of topics including juveniles on death row, jury override, and the adequate representation for indigent inmates and represent legal materials, academic articles, newspaper articles, and correspondence regarding various cases and legal issues.

The Watt Espy subject files contain a variety of materials that supplement information in the other series without necessarily being directly related. Researchers will find background information on the history of capital punishment, death penalty statistics, and a few files on crime in general. There are folders devoted to crime and punishment in many individual states and territories, though not all of them are represented. The subject files also contain information on the various methods of execution employed across the country, mainly hanging, gassing, electrocution, and lethal injection. Additionally, there are death penalty-related topics such as physician participation, editorial pieces dealing with ethics of capital punishment, execution of prisoners with low IQs, background materials on the death penalty in early America, and a few assorted death penalty research projects that Espy followed. There are also assorted photos, many of which feature inmates and prisons. Images of identified and unidentified individuals executed are presumed to be the ones that filled the walls of Espy's house.

The Subject Files series is an accumulation of material representing Studer's two primary interests: folklore and progressive education. Materials include notes, reprints, typescripts, news clippings, bound newspapers, journals, and writings of others. Of particular interest is a master's thesis by Marilyn Kimball entitled George Edwards: Catskill Folksinger. There is a typescript copy of "Merry Ditties: A Collection of Delectable Songs" from various traditional sources and a reprint of "Catskill Lockup Songs," both by Norman Cazden. Also located in this series is a copy of Herbert Haufrecht's "Woodland Serenade." There are three bound volumes of The New Student, a student run newspaper published and printed out of New York City during the 1920s and edited by Studer prior to his entering Columbia University.

Series 6 contains Dr. Vonnegut's general interest and research files, as well as the inventions that he worked on throughout his career. Topics include: lightning, ball lightning, lightning strikes and the effect on aircraft, volcanic activity and storms on Mt. St. Helens and Surtsey, thunderstorm electrification, and weather-related instruments.

This is an alphabetical letter series of the General Reference collection. The General Reference Collection was created by archivists to hold information on campus history that is not part of any organic record group. The collection contains material from a variety of outside sources, excepts from newspapers and other publications, press releases and promotional materials, and loose university records.

This series consists primarily of tornado observations and eyewitness accounts solicited from the general public via newspaper advertisements in areas where tornadoes and severe storms frequently occur. They are filed using the original labeling system employed by Dr. Vonnegut, where the date and place of the observation as well as a brief statement on the phenomena is used to identify the observation. Accounts of severe storms found in multiple publications, biblical references, and other historical observations are also present.

This is an alphabetical letter series of the General Reference collection. The General Reference Collection was created by archivists to hold information on campus history that is not part of any organic record group. The collection contains material from a variety of outside sources, excepts from newspapers and other publications, press releases and promotional materials, and loose university records.