Victor Feguer - Aftermath

Aftermath

Victor Feguer would be the last person to be executed in Iowa. After Feguer's death, it would be nearly 40 years until the next federal execution – that of Timothy McVeigh, carried out on June 11, 2001, in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Iowa abolished capital punishment for all crimes in 1965. Over the years, several attempts had been made to reinstate the death penalty in Iowa. This became a major issue in the 1994 election, as a young girl had recently been murdered, as well as in 2005 after the murder of another young girl. However, the legislature declined to reinstate the death penalty.

Previous Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack made it clear that he would veto legislation that would restore the death penalty, even if it would only be on a limited basis. As of 2012, Iowa is one of 17 U.S. states to have completely abolished capital punishment under any circumstances.