Omar Bennett
Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a legal punishment in 27 US states, as well as at the federal level. It is the most serious punishment that can be imposed under federal law and is usually reserved for aggravated murder or other serious crimes. The crimes that constitute capital punishment in the US include treason, espionage, large-scale drug trafficking, and attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer. The death penalty has been a topic of contention in the US, with 23 states and the District of Columbia having abolished it. The method of execution has also been a point of debate, with lethal injection being ruled as constitutional by the Supreme Court.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of states where capital punishment is a legal penalty | 27 |
| Number of states where capital punishment is abolished | 23, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico |
| First English-speaking territory to abolish capital punishment | Michigan |
| Year Michigan abolished capital punishment | 1847 |
| Crimes that constitute capital punishment | Treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking, attempted murder of a witness, juror, or court officer, rape, arson, terrorism, war crimes, child rape, desertion, cowardice, insubordination, mutiny, robbery, adultery, blasphemy, apostasy of Islam |
| Method of execution | Lethal injection, hanging, electrocution, cyanide gas |
| Number of OECD member countries that retain the death penalty | 3 (US, Japan, South Korea) |
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What You'll Learn
Treason
Historically, treason was committed against a monarch or a "social superior", such as a husband by his wife or a master by his servant. Today, treason in the US is committed when an individual owes allegiance to the United States and attacks the state authority. This can include acts such as participating in a war against the country, attempting to overthrow the government, spying, or attempting to kill the head of state.
During the Civil War, William Bruce Mumford was the only person formally executed for treason. He was charged with "high crimes and misdemeanors against the laws of the United States, and the peace and dignity thereof and the Law Martial" after tearing down the US flag from a public building and replacing it with a Confederate flag.
In modern times, treason charges are rare, but they still occur. For example, Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), was charged with espionage and theft of government property after revealing classified information about US surveillance programs to the press. While Snowden was not charged with treason, his actions sparked a debate about the nature of treason in the digital age.
The punishment for treason in the US has evolved over time. While the death penalty is a possible sentence, it is not the only option. The second Confiscation Act allows for lesser sentences, such as life imprisonment and fines. The method of execution for federal prisoners convicted of treason is typically lethal injection, and executions are carried out at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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Murder
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a legal punishment in 27 states in the US, as well as at the federal level and in American Samoa. It is a punishment for only the most serious crimes, and murder is one of the crimes that can result in a death sentence.
The US federal government imposes and carries out a minority of death sentences, with most being applied by state governments. The federal government has executed people for crimes involving the murder of a US national outside of the country, where the crime is intended to "coerce, intimidate, or retaliate against a government or a civilian population". The federal government also resumed executions in 2019, with five convicted death row inmates scheduled to be executed.
Some states have mandatory death penalty statutes, meaning that anyone convicted of certain forms of murder will receive a death sentence. The death penalty for murder has been abolished in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Three states abolished the death penalty for murder during the 19th century: Michigan in 1847, Wisconsin in 1853, and Maine in 1887. Rhode Island also repealed the death penalty in 1852, though it was available for murder committed by a prisoner between 1872 and 1984.
The death penalty in the US remains a contentious issue, with some states having had bans on capital punishment for decades, while others still actively use it.
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Terrorism
Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a legal punishment in 27 states in the US, as well as at the federal level and in American Samoa. The federal government rarely carries out executions, with the majority of death sentences being applied by state governments.
There are arguments both for and against making terrorism a capital crime. Some argue that executing convicted terrorists would save the lives of innocent citizens, as hostage-taking is a common concern surrounding terrorism. On the other hand, the United Kingdom's House of Commons debated a similar issue in 1973, concluding that executing terrorists, who often seek martyrdom, would increase violence and put soldiers and police at greater risk. This view is supported by Jessica Stern, a lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, who believes that the most powerful weapon against terrorists is a commitment to the rule of law and ensuring that terrorism is understood as a criminal act.
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Rape
The death penalty for rape of children, however, has a more complex history. In 1961, US Army Private John A. Bennett was executed for child rape and attempted murder, and this remains the most recent military execution. Since the end of the Civil War in 1865, only one person has been executed for a purely military offense: Private Eddie Slovik, who was put to death in 1945 for desertion.
The death penalty for rape has been a controversial issue in the US, with critics arguing that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Thurgood Marshall and William J. Brennan Jr. expressed the opinion that the death penalty was proscribed absolutely by the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment. This view was influenced by the suspicion that many states, particularly in the South, were using capital punishment as a form of legal lynching of African-American males, as almost all executions for non-homicidal rape in the Southern states involved a black perpetrator. This suspicion was fueled by cases such as the Martinsville Seven, in which seven African-American men were executed by Virginia in 1951 for the gang rape of a white woman.
Despite the controversy and the phasing out of the death penalty for rape of adults, some states have continued to include rape as an aggravating factor in capital punishment cases. In California, for example, murder involving the rape of the victim is considered an aggravating circumstance. The high number of aggravating factors in some states has been criticized for giving prosecutors too much discretion in choosing cases where they believe capital punishment is warranted.
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Drug trafficking
In the US, capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal punishment under federal law. It is reserved for only the most serious crimes, such as treason, espionage, murder, and large-scale drug trafficking. The federal government rarely carries out executions, and it has a facility and regulations only for lethal injection as a method of execution.
In 2024, of the 61,678 cases reported to the Commission, 18,150 involved drugs, with 18,029 of those cases concerning drug trafficking. The average sentence for individuals trafficking drugs was 82 months, but this varied depending on the type of drug involved in the offence.
The US is not alone in its stance on capital punishment for drug trafficking. According to a 2011 article, 32 countries impose capital punishment for offences involving narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. However, the laws and sentences for drug-related crimes, especially trafficking, are the strictest in Asian countries.
Despite the fact that capital punishment is legal in 27 US states, it is falling out of favour with lawmakers. In the past five years, four states have dropped the death penalty, and governors in three states have moratoriums prohibiting executions.
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