Death penalty
Punishment of death that is handed down from the court of law after being convicted of a capital crime. Crimes such as murder are in some states punishable by death. Also known as capital punishment and is widely known to be the most severe form of corporal punishment because it required a person to be killed. Forms of the death penalty can include lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, and gassing.
In 1976 the United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty. Since that date, there have been 1,481 people that have been executed as of August 14, 2018. Currently, there are 31 states that are authorized to use capital punishment by the federal government. As of recent, there have been states that have by law, abolished the death penalty, and replacing this with life in prison with no chance of parole. The recent states that made this move are:
Illinois (2011)
New Mexico (2012)
Maryland (2013)
Connecticut (2012)
To read more in-depth about these laws click here.
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