CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Definition & Meaning

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capital punishment

[ kap-i-tl puhn-ish-muhnt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

punishment by death for a crime; death penalty.

capital punishment

noun

the punishment of death for a crime; death penalty

capital punishment

The infliction of the death penalty as punishment for certain crimes. ( See capital offense .)

capital punishment

The death penalty for a crime.

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Notes

In the United States, capital punishment has been an extremely controversial issue on legal, moral, and ethical grounds. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was not, in principle, cruel and unusual punishment (and not, therefore, unconstitutional), but that its implementation through existing state laws was unconstitutional. In 1976, the Supreme Court again ruled that the death penalty was not unconstitutional, though a mandatory death penalty for any crime was. Thirty-nine states now practice the death penalty.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of capital punishment¹

First recorded in 1575–85

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Who better to help the president’s full-throated embrace of capital punishment than one of America’s most infamous alleged killers?

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Mexico has abolished capital punishment and typically does not extradite citizens who could be put to death under U.S. law.

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Then there’s another aspect: capital punishment in the U.S. has been disproportionately inflicted on minorities, particularly Black and Indigenous people.

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The Death Penalty Information Center’s recent annual report contained good news for those opposed to capital punishment.

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What Garland did might seem futile, given President Trump's fervent embrace of capital punishment.

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