Most people do not realize that when the United States was founded, there were no real laws on the books. Punishment for crimes was different from colony to colony.
After the American Revolution, there was a push for a unified code for criminal conduct. This led to many executions for murder, rape, and breaking and entering.
This leads us to Missouri. When the French first started the State of Missouri it wasn't even called that. Missouri was the territorial name for the state.
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We had federal sheriffs in the following areas. St. Louis, Jefferson City, St. Charles, and Kansas City. They rode a circut that covered their territory and depended on the local Army base for support.
If a Federal Sheriff came upon a crime scene he had to make a decision as to punish or not punish the offenders. Often times this led to the execution of the offending party for almost any crime.
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If a prisoner was taken into custody, then they had to go to either St. Louis or Kansas City. If a local officer caught the prisoner then they were sentenced locally. Take a look at Hannibal Missouri along the River and see the prison there. It has no means of getting out if the river decides to flood.
This was typical of all prisons of the state at the time. They placed the prisoners next to a river and locked the doors. If your cell flooded out, you died if you could not swim. They did not move the prisons out of the flood plains until around 1900. Even still they were placed in the worst conditions available so there would be no repeat offenders.
If a person was convicted of rape, he was first neutered then placed into a prison for a long time. Once the prisoner was released there was no way he was going to repeat that crime as he had nothing to work with.
Also once a prisoner was released all was forgiven and he had to start his life over. His family usually was gone and all he had was what the prison warden gave him to start over. This applied to all prisoners released after they completed their sentence. This also assumed, that the prisoner lived to complete his sentence. Weapons were returned to the former prisoner and life went on.
What I find interesting in all the discussion about the NRA having a convention in St. Louis, Missouri, is that almost all the discussion is about having the Second Amendment or not having it.
The NRA choose to go to St. Louis to have their convention due to the fact that St. Louis welcomed them nothing more. They did not do it because of the Second Amendment, nor did they do it because of the State of Missouri having a Concealed Carry Weapon Law. They chose St. Louis because they were welcomed by the City Tourism Bureau.
My question to all who read this is:
Would you like a return to the old days where the punishment was severe and harsh with no appeal or would you like to live in today's system with multiple appeals and the punishment often fitting the crime in someway or another?