Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment, also called the "Death Penalty", is the practice in which a government executes a person as punishment for committing a crime. Capital punishment is subject to lengthy legal process, both during the trial and before the sentence is carried out. Consequently, those prisoners who are sentenced to be executed often face a waiting period in prison, commonly called Death Row.

Fast Facts

1. Capital Punishment lawful in 38 of the 50 US states
2. 1976: Death penalty reinstated
3. Since 1976 there have been 1,099 executions in the US
4. 2006: 53 executions
5. 67% of capital convictions in the US are overturned
6. Lethal injection is the most common form in the United States
7. Since 1976, Texas has executed more inmates than any other state
8. California has the largest number of inmates on death row
9. 2003: Governor George Ryan of Illinois commuted the sentences of all death row inmates

Advocacy for Capital Punishment

Advocates argue that state-sanctioned killing deters criminals from committing particularly heinous crimes, improves community by preventing repeated offenses, and grants emotional closure to surviving victims or relatives of victims.

Contentions Against Capital Punishment

Conversely, critics argue that capital punishment devalues human life, and that it is in effect state-sponsored murder which compromises the government's morals. Also, critics attack capital punishment on the grounds that there is the ever-present risk that the wrong man or woman could be executed.

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