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Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime, usually following an authorised, rule-governed process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant said punishment. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 20 states have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums. The existence of capital punishment in the United States can be traced to early colonial Virginia. Along with Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, the United States is one of four advanced democracies and the only Western nation that applies the death penalty regularly. 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 as one of four countries to still use this method. It is common practice for the condemned to be administered sedatives prior to execution, regardless of the method used.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in China. It is commonly applied for murder and drug trafficking, and is a legal penalty for other offenses. Executions are carried out by lethal injection or by shooting. In a survey conducted by the New York Times in 2014, it was found the death penalty retained widespread support in Chinese society.
Capital punishment for murder was abolished in Cyprus on 15 December 1983. It was abolished for all crimes on 19 April 2002. The death penalty was replaced with life imprisonment. Cyprus is a signatory of the second optional protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides for full abolition of capital punishment. Cyprus initially had a reservation on the second protocol, allowing execution for grave crimes in times of war, but subsequently gave up this reservation. The Constitution of Cyprus was amended in 2016 to wipe out all forms of capital punishment.
Capital punishment in Germany has been abolished for all crimes, and is now explicitly prohibited by constitution. It was abolished in West Germany in 1949, in the Saarland in 1956, and East Germany in 1987. The last person executed in Germany was the East German Werner Teske, who was executed at Leipzig Prison in 1981.
Capital punishment was a legal penalty in the Soviet Union for most of the country's existence. The claimed legal basis for capital punishment was Article 22 of the Fundamental Principles of Criminal Legislation, which stated that the death penalty was permitted "as an exceptional measure of punishment, until its complete abolition".
Capital punishment in Armenia was a method of punishment that was implemented within Armenia's Criminal Code and Constitution until its eventual relinquishment in the 2003 modifications made to the Constitution. Capital punishment's origin in Armenia is unknown, yet it remained present in the Armenia Criminal Code of 1961, which was enforced and applied until 1999. Capital punishment was incorporated in Armenian legislation and effectuated for capital crimes, which were crimes that were classified to be punishable by death, this included: treason, espionage, first-degree murder, acts of terrorism and grave military crimes.
Capital punishment was completely abolished in Hungary on 24 October 1990 by the Constitutional Court. A month later on 1 December 1990 protocol No. 6 to the ECHR came into force. Hungary later adopted the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR as well. The last condemned man to be executed, Ernő Vadász, was hanged for the crime of murder on 14 July 1988. In April 2015, following the murder of a woman in southern Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suggested that Hungary must reinstate capital punishment. This statement caused a strong reaction by EU officials, and Orbán had to retract it as a result. The European Union holds a strong opposition against the death penalty in its relation to the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy.
In 2008, there were 434,560 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Georgia, including 650 murders
In 2008, there were 49,516 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Hawaii, including 25 murders, 46,004 property crimes, and 365 rapes.
In 2019, there were 7,545 violent-crime incidents, and 8,237 offenses reported in the U.S. state of Iowa.
In 2020, there were 9,820 violent-crime incidents, and 11,349 offenses reported the U.S. state of Kentucky.
Crime in Massachusetts refers to crime occurring within the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
In 2016 there were 202,193 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Missouri, including 537 murders.
In 2008 there were 60,995 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Nebraska, including 69 murders. In 2014 there were 52,727 crimes, including 53 murders.
In 2008 there were 351,353 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, including 707 murders. In 2014 there were 287,180 crimes reported, including 614 murders.
In 2008 there were 192,751 crimes reported in the U.S. state of South Carolina, including 307 murders. In 2014 there were 174,269 crimes reported, including 311 murders.
In 2008 there were 15,941 crimes reported in South Dakota, including 37 murders. In 2014 there were 18,688 crimes reported, including 20 murders.
In 2021 there were 109,587 crimes reported in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, including 332 murders, 2,475 acts of rape, 2,707 accounts of robbery, and 13,579 assaults. The chances of becoming a victim of a crime was 1 in 309.
Capital punishment in Macau was formally abolished in 1976 and reiterated in the Penal Code of Macau in the 1995.
References
- ↑ http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/arcrime.htm here
- ↑ "Facts about capital punishment - the death penalty". religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
