So, what is capital punishment?
Capital Punishment:
Noun The legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime. "the abolition of capital punishment" Capital Punishment is the harshest of all punishments. It is the practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime. It can only be used by the state and is usually only used as a punishment for particularly serious types of murder, but in some countries the punishment is used for fraud, adultery and rape. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head". Which refers to beheading. The main execution methods used are electrocution, gassing, hanging, lethal injection, shooting or stoning. Capital Punishment is still used in many countries around the world, despite that over 141 countries have abolished the death penalty. China executes the most people per year overall, with an estimated figure of 1,718 in 2008. Amnesty International also states that in 2008 Iran executed at least 346 people, the USA 111, Saudi Arabia 102 and Pakistan 36. |