Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death sentence, whereas the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes or capital offences, and they commonly include offences such as murder, mass murder, terrorism, treason, espionage, offenses against the State, such as attempting to overthrow government, piracy, drug trafficking, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, but may include a wide range of offences depending on a country. Etymologically, the term capital in this context alluded to execution by beheading.
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder. Although unused, the death penalty remained a legally defined punishment for certain offences such as treason until it was completely abolished in 1998. In 2004 the 13th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights became binding on the United Kingdom, prohibiting the restoration of the death penalty for as long as the UK is a party to the Convention.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United States, currently used by 30 states, the federal government, and the military. Its existence can be traced to the beginning of the American colonies. The United States is the only Western country currently applying the death penalty. It is one of 54 countries worldwide applying it, and was the first to develop lethal injection as a method of execution, which has since been adopted by five other countries. The Philippines has since abolished executions, and Guatemala has done so for civil offenses, leaving the United States one of 4 countries to use this method, along with China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Nebraska.
The Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution Act 2001 is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which introduced a constitutional ban on the death penalty and removed all references to capital punishment from the text. It was approved by referendum on 7 June 2001 and signed into law on 27 March 2002. The referendum was held on the same day as referendums on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was also approved, and on the ratification of the Nice Treaty, which was rejected.
Capital punishment in New Zealand first appeared in a codified form when New Zealand became a British colony in 1840, and it was first employed in 1842. Capital punishment was last used in 1957, abolished for murder in 1961, and abolished altogether, including for treason, in 1989. During the period that it was in effect, 85 people were executed.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Belarus. It carried out at least four executions in 2018.
Capital punishment in Denmark was abolished in 1930, with no death sentences having been carried out since 1892, but restored from 1945 to 1950 in order to execute Nazi collaborators. Capital punishment for most instances of war crimes was legally ended in 1978. The last execution was in June 1950.
"Reflections on the Guillotine" is an extended essay written in 1957 by Albert Camus. In the essay Camus takes an uncompromising position for the abolition of the death penalty. Camus's view is similar to that of Cesare Beccaria and the Marquis de Sade, the latter having also argued that murder premeditated and carried out by the state was the worst kind. Camus states that he does not base his argument on sympathy for the convicted but on logical grounds and on proven statistics. Camus also argues that capital punishment is an easy option for the government where remedy and reform may be possible.
Capital punishment in the Republic of Ireland was abolished in statute law in 1990, having been abolished in 1964 for most offences including ordinary murder. The last to be executed was Michael Manning, hanged for murder in 1954. All subsequent death sentences, the last handed down in 1985, were commuted by the President, on the advice of the Government, to terms of imprisonment of up to 40 years. The Twenty-first Amendment of the constitution, passed by referendum in 2001, prohibits the reintroduction of the death penalty, even during a state of emergency or war. Capital punishment is also forbidden by several human rights treaties to which the state is a party.
Capital punishment in Romania was abolished in 1990, and has been prohibited by the Constitution of Romania since 1991.
Capital punishment has been abolished in Turkey as of 2004, and Turkey has not executed any prisoners since October 1984.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Florida.
While laws regarding the imposition of capital punishment in the State of New York are still on the books, it is no longer enforced as it is been declared unconstitutional in the state and this ruling has not been overturned. The last execution took place in 1963, when Eddie Mays was electrocuted at Sing Sing Prison. The state was the first to adopt the electric chair as a method of execution, which replaced hanging.
Capital punishment has been abolished in Mongolia since 2016, following a previous eight-year moratorium.
In the United States, the law regarding murder varies by jurisdiction. In most U.S. jurisdictions there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first degree murder and felony murder are the most serious, followed by second degree murder, followed by voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter which are not as serious, and ending finally in justifiable homicide, which is not a crime at all. However, because there are at least 52 relevant jurisdictions, each with its own criminal code, this is a considerable simplification.
The Bermudan independence referendum of 1995 was a referendum held in Bermuda on 16 August 1995 over whether Bermuda should become an independent sovereign state or remain a British Dependent Territory. On a voter turnout of 58.8%, 73.6% voted against independence, and 25.7% voted in favour. Following the decisive referendum result, Sir John Swan, in favour of independence, resigned as Premier of Bermuda.
A referendum on the death penalty was held in the United States Virgin Islands on 7 November 1978, in response to a decree by the Governor of the Islands. He requested a non-binding consultative referendum be held in conjunction with the next general election.
Capital punishment in Nauru was used prior to its independence in 1968. Prior to the abolition of capital punishment on 12 May 2016, with the passage of the Crimes Act 2016, Amnesty International categorised Nauru as abolitionist in practice.
