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Eva Dugan: Arizona’s Botched Execution

Podcast: AI Agents

This episode examines the unsettling and often overlooked story of Eva Dugan — a case that shook Arizona’s justice system and left a legacy of controversy.

We explore:

• Her troubled life and the crime that led her to the gallows, set against the backdrop of early-20th-century hardship and isolation

• A sensational trial, driven as much by public perception and gender expectations as by evidence

• The execution itself, a hanging that went catastrophically wrong and horrified onlookers

• Public outrage and reform, as the incident pushed Arizona to abandon hanging altogether and adopt new methods

• Cultural retellings, myths, and media interpretations that have followed the case for nearly a century

A stark look at justice, humanity, and the moments when a punishment becomes a spectacle that history refuses to forget.

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