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Death Penalty

From dKosopedia

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Basic Information

The death penalty, or capital punishment, is defined as the execution of a prisoner who has, in most cases, committed a serious crime. Executions have been in practice since ancient times, while the methods have varied greatly.

Death Penalty in the United States

The United States exercises capital punishment in cases which involve murder, most actions that result in death, espionage, treason, drug trafficking, and attempting or authorizing the murder of an officer, juror, or witness in a case.Currently, 36 states have laws which allow for punishment by death, while the remaining 14 states (plus DC) allow for life imprisonment as their maximum sentence. The death penalty was outlawed in the U.S. after the case of Furman v. Georgia 1972, but was reinstated after Gregg v. Georgia 1976.

Five methods of execution are currently maintained in the United States.

Life imprisonment without possibility of parole, which mandates keeping a person in prison for the remainder of their life, is a form of punishment available everywhere in the United States, except Texas. Imprisonment is always an alternative to the death penalty. It is the maximum form of punishment in 14 states: AK, HI, IA, NJ, ME, MA, MI, MN, ND, NM, RI, VT, WV, WI, and the District of Columbia.

New Jersey abolished the death penalty in December, 2007.

New Mexico abolished the death penalty in March 2009.

Death Penalty outside the United States

The only 5 countries that execute children are Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. all are Muslim states. [1]

Other Resources

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This page was last modified 17:40, 20 March 2009 by dKosopedia user Corncam. Based on work by roger and Chad Lupkes and dKosopedia user(s) GD, JohnLocke, Dem724, Aaron Gillies and Gryn. Content is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.


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