English Across the Curriculum
The Death Penalty
Introduction
Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the killing of a criminal who has been sentenced to death by a court. In most cases it is used for murder, but the death penalty has also been applied to rape, treason and other crimes.
Although most countries around the world have abolished capital punishment, it is still a form of punishment in the United States, where it is a much-discussed topic, China and about 60 other countries, including many states of the Middle East.
