Capital punishment
State-sanctioned killing as punishment for misconduct.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering such punishment is a death sentence, and the act of carrying it out is an execution. A prisoner sentenced to death and awaiting execution is condemned and commonly referred to as being 'on death row.' Etymologically, the term capital (lit. 'of the head,' from Latin capitalis, caput, 'head') refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods. Crimes punishable by death are known as capital crimes, capital offences, or capital felonies, and vary by jurisdiction, but commonly include serious crimes against a person such as murder, assassination, mass murder, child murder, aggravated rape, terrorism, aircraft hijacking, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, along with crimes against the state such as attempting to overthrow government, treason, espionage, sedition, and piracy. In some cases, acts of recidivism, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, drug dealing, and drug possession are capital crimes or enhancements. States have also imposed punitive executions for political or religious beliefs and practices, for a status beyond one's control, or without significant due process.
- definition
- State-sanctioned killing as punishment for misconduct
- etymology
- From Latin capitalis, caput, meaning 'of the head'
- earliest known code
- Code of Hammurabi
- OECD retention (2023)
- Only 2 of 38 member countries (United States and Japan)
Lore & Background
In certain parts of the world, nations emerged as ancient republics, monarchies, or tribal oligarchies. The earliest and most famous example is the Code of Hammurabi, which prescribed different punishments and compensation based on the classes or groups of victims and perpetrators. The Torah/Old Testament lays down the death penalty for murder, kidnapping, practicing magic, violation of the Sabbath, blasphemy, and a range of sexual crimes, although evidence suggests actual executions were exceedingly rare. The word draconian derives from Draco's laws. The Romans also used the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Protagoras (reported by Plato) criticised the principle of revenge, arguing that if the death penalty is to be imposed by society, it is only to protect society against the criminal or for a dissuasive purpose. Plato saw the death penalty as a means of purification, because crimes were a 'defilement.'
Reader's Guide
Capital punishment remains a deeply controversial practice, with many people, organisations, religious groups, and states holding differing views on its ethical permissibility. In the European Union, the Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits its use. The Council of Europe has worked to end the death penalty; no execution has taken place in its current member states since 1997. Although the majority of countries have abolished it, over half of the world's population lives in countries where the death penalty is retained. In most countries that practice it, it is now reserved for murder, terrorism, war crimes, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries, sexual crimes such as rape, fornication, adultery, incest, sodomy, and bestiality carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy, blasphemy, and witchcraft. In many countries, drug trafficking and drug possession are also capital offences. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption and financial crimes are punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world, courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offences such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.
Did You Know?
- The term 'capital' derives from the Latin caput, meaning 'head,' referring to execution by beheading.
- The word 'draconian' originates from Draco's Athenian laws, which prescribed the death penalty for a wide range of crimes.
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