Section outline

  • 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.



          Active legal form of punishment for certain offenses
      Inactive legal form of punishment. No executions in the last decade; believed to have a de facto or de jure moratorium
      Abolished except for exceptional circumstances (such as war crimes)
      Abolished for all crimes

    Capital Punishment Around the World
    Image: Kamalthebest, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons


    Words

    • abolish = get rid of, do away with
    • although = while
    • applied to = used for
    • capital punishment = the death penalty
    • court = place where a trial is held; room in which a judge and a jury decide of a person is guilty or not
    • criminal = a person who has done something that is against the law and needs to be punished
    • decade = a period of ten years
    • moratorium = to officially stop something for a certain period of time
    • offence = crime
    • punishment = when you make someone suffer because they have done something against the law
    • rape = force someone to have sex with you
    • referred to = called
    • sentence = when a judge gives you some form of punishment
    • treason = a crime committed against your government or to help its enemies