"And adultery was a capital crime"

Are you confusing Islam with Christianity? Adultery is a capital crime in traditional Islamic jurisprudence.

From wikipedia:

> Laws against adultery in colonial America were very harsh. Despite this, there is only one known execution for adultery in American history: it occurred in the Colony of Massachusetts in 1643, when the married 18 year old Mary Latham[118] and her extramarital lover James Britton were executed.[119][120]

This is new to me, I had no idea. But it seems that in colonial Massachusetts at least, adultery was a capital crime. Technically colonial Massachusetts isn't Massachusetts state. I don't know when this/these laws were revised, but it seems plausible that some of them lasted past the colonial era.

These are the only two people ever known to be executed in the colonies or states to follow: https://horrorhistory.net/2021/03/21/pair-hanged-for-adulter...

Which makes sense. Too many lawmakers would have to be hanged if it was actually illegal, as there were plenty of scandals around affairs made public. Hamilton for example admitted to having an affair (https://www.history.com/news/alexander-hamilton-maria-reynol...), which would of course be a crazy thing to do if he could be hanged over it.

Well, even today adultry is illegal in some states, but thankfully not a capital crime. As of 2022 It's illegal in 16 states (including a few surprising states like New York) and a felony in 3 (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.)

But yes, enforcement is rare and probably for exactly the reason you say.

> And adultery was a capital crime, read between the lines.

Uhhh... No, no it was not.

> Look, if your daughters came to you and said “we want to be whores for a living”, you’ve got bigger issues than arguing on this website.

Better throw them in prison then. That'll solve the problem.