Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the execution of a person by the state as punishment for a crime. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital origins from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (Latin caput). Hence, a capital crime originally was to be punished by the loss of the head. For other uses, see State (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ... Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head), or beheading, is the removal of a living organisms head. ...

Historically, the execution of criminals and political opponents was used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. In most places that practice capital punishment today, the death penalty is reserved as punishment for premeditated murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy (the formal renunciation of the State religion). In many retentionist countries (countries that use the death penalty), drug trafficking is also a capital offense. In China human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are also punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offenses such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.^[1] For other uses, see Crime (disambiguation). ... Individual rights Free speech, free press Soap box, Speakers corner (Hyde Park), blog (weblog) prior restraint, censorship, self-censorship, censor Right to assembly Gay rights, Stonewall Feminism, ERA, equal pay, Title IX Famous political dissenters Gandhi Steve Biko Nelson Mandela Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect (usually after a formal declaration) when a military authority takes control of the normal administration of justice. ... This article is about the act of adultery. ... François Elluin, Sodomites provoking the wrath of God, from Le pot pourri de Loth (1781). ... Apostasy (from Greek αποστασία, meaning a defection or revolt, from απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of ones religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. ... At one time capital punishment was used in almost every part of the globe, but over the last few decades many countries have abolished it. ... Retail selling Street selling is the bottom of the chain and can be accomplished through purchasing from prostitutes, through cloaked retail stores or refuse houses for users in the act located in red-light districts which often also deal in paraphernalia, dealers marketing merriment at night clubs and other events... For other uses, see Human trafficking (disambiguation). ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ... Cowardice is a vice that is conventionally viewed as the corruption of prudence, to thwart all courage or bravery. ... For other uses of Desertion, see Abandonment. ... Insubordination is the act of a subordinate deliberately disobeying a lawful order. ... Mutiny AKA. Matt Daye Is A conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority. ...

Among countries around the world, almost all European and many Pacific Area states (including Australia, New Zealand and Timor Leste), and Canada have abolished capital punishment. In Latin America, most states have completely abolished the use of capital punishment, while some countries, such as Brazil, allow for capital punishment only in exceptional situations, such as treason committed during wartime. The United States (the federal government and 36 of its states), Guatemala, most of the Caribbean and the majority of democracies in Asia (e.g. Japan and India) and Africa (e.g. Botswana and Zambia) retain it. South Africa, which is probably the most developed African nation, and which has been a democracy since 1994, does not have the death penalty. This fact is currently quite controversial in that country, due to the high levels of violent crime, including murder and rape.^[2] For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor, is an island nation in Southeast Asia, consisting of the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, a political exclave of East Timor situated on the western side of... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... West Indies redirects here. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

Capital punishment is a contentious issue in some cultures. Supporters of capital punishment argue that it deters crime, prevents recidivism, that it is less expensive than life imprisonment^{[citation needed]} and is an appropriate form of punishment for some crimes. Opponents of capital punishment argue that it has led to the execution of wrongfully convicted, that it discriminates against minorities and the poor, that it does not deter criminals more than life imprisonment, that it encourages a "culture of violence", that it is more expensive than life imprisonment^{[citation needed]}, and that it violates human rights. Deterrence is the method manipulating a persons action by negative motivational influences. ... This article is about recidivism in criminology and penology. ... Capital punishment Wrongful execution is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment, the death penalty. The possibility of wrongful executions is one of the arguments presented by the opponents of capital punishment; other arguments include failing to deter crime more than... Deterrence is the method manipulating a persons action by negative motivational influences. ... Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, nominally for the entire remaining life of the prisoner, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 50 years) a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...

The latest countries to abolish the death penalty de facto for all crimes were Gabon, which announced on September 14, 2007 that they would no longer apply capital punishment^[3] and South Korea in practice on December 31, 2007 after ten years of disuse. The latest to abolish executions de jure was Uzbekistan on January 1, 2008. De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Look up De jure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

Criminal procedure
Criminal trials and convictions
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Fair trial  · Speedy trial  · Jury trial
Counsel  · Presumption of innocence
Exclusionary rule (U.S.)
Self-incrimination  · Double jeopardy
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Acquittal  · Conviction
Not proven (Scot.)  · Directed verdict
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Mandatory  · Suspended  · Custodial
Dangerous offender (Can.)
Capital punishment  · Execution warrant
Cruel and unusual punishment
Post-conviction events
Parole  · Probation
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Related areas of law
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Criminal law  · Evidence
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Portals: Law  · Criminal justice

Image File history File links Scale_of_justice_2. ... Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated the criminal law. ... Headline text The rights of the accused is a class of rights in that apply to a person in the time period between when they are formally accused of a crime and when they are either convicted or acquitted. ... The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jury. ... The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. ... Presumption of innocence is a legal right that the accused in criminal trials has in many modern nations. ... In United States constitutional law, the exclusionary rule is a legal principle holding that evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the U.S. Constitution is inadmissible for a criminal prosecution in a court of law (that is, it cannot be used in a criminal trial). ... Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. ... For other uses, see Double jeopardy (disambiguation). ... In law, a verdict indicates the judgment of a case before a court of law. ... In criminal law, an acquittal is the legal result of a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict of guilty being entered against the accused. ... In law, a conviction is the verdict which results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of committing a crime. ... Not proven is a verdict available to a court in Scotland. ... In U.S. law, a directed verdict is an order from the judge presiding over a jury trial that one side or the other wins. ... In law, a sentence forms the final act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. ... A mandatory sentence is a judicial decision setting the punishment to be inflicted on a person convicted of a crime where judicial discretion is limited by law. ... A suspended sentence is a legal construct. ... A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence, imposing a punishment (and hence the resulting punishment itself) consisting of mandatory custody of the convict, either in prison (incarceration) or in some other closed therapeutic and/or (re)educational institution, such as a reformatory, (maximum security) psychiatry or drug detoxication (especially cold... In the Canadian legal system, the dangerous offender designation allows the courts to impose an indefinite sentence on a convicted person, regardless of whether the crime carries a life sentence or not. ... An execution warrant is a warrant which authorizes the execution or capital punishment of an individual. ... Cruel And Unusual redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Under British criminal law, a tariff is the minimum period that a person serving an indefinite prison sentence must serve before that person becomes eligible for parole. ... Life licence is a term used in the British criminal justice system for the conditions under which a prisoner sentenced to life in jail may be released. ... A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that he or she did not commit. ... Exoneration occurs when a perason waho hars beoen convaicted osf ah crieme irs laeter proved to have been innocent of that crime. ... For the Breton religious festivals, see Pardon (ceremony). ... The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a civil action, as opposed to a criminal action). ...

[edit] Contemporary use

[edit] Global distribution

Since World War II there has been a consistent trend towards abolishing the death penalty. In 1977, 16 countries were abolitionist. As of January 1 2008, 92 countries had abolished capital punishment altogether, 10 had done so for all offences except under special circumstances, and 33 others had not used it for at least 10 years - while 62 countries actively retained the death penalty. ^[4] Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

At least 3,000 people (and probably considerably more) were sentenced to death during 2007, and at the end of the year around 25,000 were on death row around the world, with Pakistan and the USA accounting for about half this figure between them. China carries out by far the greatest number of actual executions - while Amnesty International has confirmed at least 470 executions there during 2007 the true figure has been estimated at up to 6,000. Outside China, at least 800 people were put to death in 23 countries during 2007, with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq and the USA the main contributors. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen executed people for crimes committed when they were juveniles, in contravention of international law. ^[5]

Executions are known to have been carried out in the following countries in 2007^[6]:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Botswana, China, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, USA, Viet Nam, Yemen.

In 2007 the largest number of verifiable executions were carried out in the six countries listed below (note though that wih the exception of the US, the figures for other countries are believed to be under-estimates):

Most Executions carried out in 2007

The use of the death penalty is becoming increasingly restrained in retentionist countries. Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. are the only fully developed countries that have retained the death penalty. The death penalty was overwhelmingly practiced in poor and authoritarian states, which often employed the death penalty as a tool of political oppression. During the 1980s, the democratization of Latin America swelled the rank of abolitionist countries. This was soon followed by the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, which then aspired to enter the EU. In these countries, the public support for the death penalty varies but it is decreasing ^[7].^{[citation needed]} The European Union and the Council of Europe both strictly require member states not to practice the death penalty (see Capital punishment in Europe). On the other hand, rapid industrialization in Asia has been increasing the number of developed retentionist countries . In these countries, the death penalty enjoys strong public support, and the matter receives little attention from the government or the media. This trend has been followed by some African and Middle Eastern countries where support for the death penalty is high. This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Statistical regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked red):  Northern Europe  Western Europe  Eastern Europe  Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current borders: Russia (dark orange), other countries formerly part of the USSR... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: European Union The European Union On-Line Official EU website, europa. ... Anthem Ode to Joy (orchestral)  ten founding members joined subsequently observer at the Parliamentary Assembly observer at the Committee of Ministers  official candidate Seat Strasbourg, France Membership 47 European states 5 observers (Council) 3 observers (Assembly) Leaders  -  Secretary General Terry Davis  -  President of the Parliamentary Assembly Rene van der Linden... // The flag of the Council of Europe and the European Union. ... The only countries in Europe that havent abolished the death penalty yet is Albania, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Russia. ...

Some countries have resumed practicing the death penalty after having suspended executions for long periods. Notably, the United States suspended executions in 1973 but resumed them in 1977; there was no execution in India between 1995 and 2004; and Sri Lanka recently declared an end to its moratorium on the death penalty, although it has not yet performed any executions. The Philippines had re-introduced the death penalty in 1993 after abolishing it in 1987, but abolished it again in 2006. Look up Moratorium in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Use of the death penalty around the world (as of Sep. 2007).
     Abolished for all offenses (91)      Abolished for all offenses except under special circumstances (11)      Retains, though not used for at least 10 years (32)      Retains death penalty (64)* *Note that, while laws vary between U.S. states, it is considered retentionist because the federal death penalty is still in active use.

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1350x625, 106 KB) Alternate version with Belarus fixed and individual US states coloured. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1350x625, 106 KB) Alternate version with Belarus fixed and individual US states coloured. ... At one time the death penalty was used in almost every part of the globe; but over the last few decades many countries have abolished it. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of...

[edit] In specific countries

See also: Use of capital punishment by nation

For further information about capital punishment in these nations, see: Australia · Belarus · Canada · People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) · Denmark · Europe · France · India · Iraq · Japan · The Netherlands · New Zealand ·Pakistan· Philippines · Russia · Singapore · Sweden · Taiwan · United Kingdom · United States At one time capital punishment was used in almost every part of the globe, but over the last few decades many countries have abolished it. ... The only countries in Europe that havent abolished the death penalty yet is Albania, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Russia. ... Capital punishment (Doodstraf in Dutch) in the Netherlands was first abolished in 1870, though only in criminal law, by the Dutch justice minister Van Lilaar. ...

[edit] Juvenile offenders

The death penalty for juvenile offenders (criminals aged under 18 years at the time of their crime) has become increasingly rare. The only countries still officially supporting the practice are Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia,^{[citation needed]}. Since 1990, nine countries have executed offenders who were juveniles at the time of their crimes; China, D.R. Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United States and Yemen. China, Pakistan, the United States and Yemen have since raised the minimum age to 18.^[8] Amnesty International has recorded 54 verified executions since then, in several countries, of both juveniles and adults who had been convicted of committing their offenses as juveniles.^[9] China does not allow for the execution of those under 18; nevertheless, child executions have reportedly taken place.^[10] The United States Supreme Court abolished capital punishment for offenders under the age of 16 in Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988), and for all juveniles in Roper v. Simmons (2005). Starting in 1642 within British America, an estimated 365^[11] juvenile offenders were executed by the states and federal government of the United States.^[12] In 2002, the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the execution of individuals with mental retardation.^[13] Teen redirects here. ... Motto: Justice – Paix – Travail(French) Justice – Peace – Work Anthem: Debout Congolais Capital (and largest city) Kinshasaa Official languages French Recognised regional languages Lingala, Kongo/Kituba, Swahili, Tshiluba Demonym Congolese Government Semi-Presidential Republic  -  President Joseph Kabila  -  Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga Independence  -  from Belgium June 30, 1960  Area  -  Total 2,344... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience... Holding The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 16 when their crimes were committed. ... Holding The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed. ... British America may refer to: British North America, former British possessions in North America north of the United States, eventually consolidating into Canada British overseas territories in the Americas; also see British West Indies This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Mental retardation is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal global intellectual capacity as an adult. ...

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids capital punishment for juveniles, has been signed and ratified by all countries except for the United States and Somalia.^[14] The UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights maintains that the death penalty for juveniles has become contrary to a jus cogens of customary international law. UN redirects here. ... Convention on the Rights of the Child Opened for signature 20 November 1989 in - Entered into force September 2, 1990 Conditions for entry into force 20 ratifications or accessions (Article 49) Parties 193 (only 2 non-parties: USA and Somalia) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child... Ratification is the act of giving official sanction to a formal document such as a treaty or constitution. ... A peremptory norm (also called jus cogens, Latin for compelling law) is a fundamental principle of international law considered to have acceptance among the international community of states as a whole. ... Customary international law Unwritten law applied to the behaviour of nations. ...

[edit] Methods

Main article: List of methods of capital punishment

There are several methods of execution, including: decapitation, electrocution, the firing squad or other sorts of shooting, the gas chamber, hanging, and lethal injection. Electric chair as used for electrocutions. ... Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head), or beheading, is the removal of a living organisms head. ... The electric chair is an execution method in which the person being put to death is strapped to a chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. ... The Third of May by Francisco Goya Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in times of war. ... Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by a firearm or firearms. ... For other uses, see Gas chamber (disambiguation). ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... This article is about the execution and euthanasia method. ...

[edit] Wrongful executions

Main article: Wrongful execution

"Wrongful execution" is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment.^[15] Many people have been heralded as innocent victims of the death penalty.^[16][17][18] At least 39 executions have been carried out in the U.S. in face of compelling evidence of innocence or serious doubt about guilt.^[19] Newly-available DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration of more than 15 death row inmates since 1992 in the U.S.,^[20] but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases. In the UK, reviews prompted by the Criminal Cases Review Commission have resulted in one pardon and three exonerations with compensation paid for people executed between 1950 and 1953, when the execution rate in England and Wales averaged 17 per year. Capital punishment Wrongful execution is a miscarriage of justice occurring when an innocent person is put to death by capital punishment, the death penalty. The possibility of wrongful executions is one of the arguments presented by the opponents of capital punishment; other arguments include failing to deter crime more than... A miscarriage of justice is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that he or she did not commit. ... Genetic fingerprinting, DNA testing, DNA typing, and DNA profiling are techniques used to distinguish between individuals of the same species using only samples of their DNA. Its invention by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester was announced in 1985. ... Exoneration occurs when a perason waho hars beoen convaicted osf ah crieme irs laeter proved to have been innocent of that crime. ... For information about the Record company see Death Row Records For information about the computer game see Deathrow (game) Death Row is a term that refers to the section of a prison that houses individuals awaiting execution. ... The Criminal Cases Review Commission is the independent public body set up to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

[edit] History

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2007)

The use of formal execution extends at least to the beginning of recorded history. Most historical records as well as various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system. Communal punishment for wrongdoing generally included compensation by the wrongdoer, corporal punishment, shunning, banishment and execution. However, within a small community, crimes were rare and murder was almost always a crime of passion. Moreover, most would hesitate to inflict death on a member of the community. For this reason, execution and even banishment were extremely rare. Usually, compensation and shunning were enough as a form of justice.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain and suffering intended to change a persons behavior or to punish them. ... Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with, and habitually keeping away from an individual or group. ... Exile (band) may refer to: Exile - The American country music band Exile - The Japanese pop music band Category: ... A crime of passion, in popular usage, refers to a crime in which the perpetrator commits a crime, specially assault or murder, against a spouse or other loved one due to sudden jealous rage or heartbreak rather than as a premeditated crime. ...

Waiting to be shot in Gulag. Painting by Nikolai Getman, provided by Jamestown Foundation

However, these are not effective responses to crimes committed by outsiders. Consequently, even small crimes committed by outsiders were considered to be an assault on the community and were severely punished.^{[citation needed]} The methods varied from beating and enslavement to executions. However, the response to crime committed by neighbouring tribes or communities included formal apology, compensation or blood feuds. Nikolai Getman Moving out. ... Getmans painting of Nagaevo, Magadans port Nikolai Getman (Russian: , Ukrainian: ), an artist, was born in 1917 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and died in Orel, Russia, in 2004. ... The Jamestown Foundation (founded 1984) is an American think tank whose mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends which are current strategic importance to the United States. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

A blood feud or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or tribes fails or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice was common before the emergence of an arbitration system based on state or organised religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a code of honour. "Acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies (as well as potential allies) that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go unpunished."^[21] However, in practice, it is often difficult to distinguish between a war of vendetta and one of conquest. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A feud is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. ... A code of honour is an unwritten rule in a society, often influenced by culture, religion, and popculture. ... For other uses, see War (disambiguation). ...

For most of recorded history, capital punishments were often cruel and inhumane. Severe historical penalties include breaking wheel, boiling to death, flaying, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucifixion, impalement, crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, execution by burning, dismemberment, sawing, decapitation, scaphism, or necklacing. The breaking at the wheel) was a form of punishment used during the english civil war. ... Boiling to death is a method of capital punishment. ... Michelangelos Last Judgment - Saint Bartholomew holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. ... Slow slicing (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , alternately transliterated Ling Chi or Leng Tche), also translated as the slow process, the lingering death, or death by/of a thousand cuts, is a form of execution used in China from roughly CE 900 to its abolition in 1905. ... Disembowelment is evisceration, or the removing of some or all of vital organs, usually from the abdomen. ... For other uses, see Crucifixion (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see impale. ... Death by crushing or pressing is a method of execution which has a long history during which the techniques used varied greatly from place to place. ... A condemned prisoner being dismembered by an elephant in Ceylon. ... Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment execution method carried out by an organized group throwing stones or rocks at the person they mean to execute. ... Jan Hus burned at the stake Execution by burning has a long history as a method of punishment for crimes such as treason, heresy and witchcraft (burning, however, was actually less common than hanging, pressing, or drowning as a punishment for witchcraft). ... Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. ... Delinquent sawed in two (Drawing by Lucas Cranach the Elder) Delinquent sawed in two while other condemned watch (Mediaeval drawing) Example of a two-man saw used for execution This article describes the method of execution. ... Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head), or beheading, is the removal of a living organisms head. ... Scaphism, also known as the boats, is an ancient Persian method of execution designed to inflict torturous death. ... Necklacing (sometimes metonymically called Necklace) refers to the practice of execution carried out by forcing a rubber tire, filled with gasoline, around a victims chest and arms, and setting it on fire. ...

Elaborations of tribal arbitration of feuds included peace settlements often done in a religious context and compensation system. Compensation was based on the principle of substitution which might include material (e.g. cattle, slave) compensation, exchange of brides or grooms, or payment of the blood debt. Settlement rules could allow for animal blood to replace human blood, or transfers of property or blood money or in some case an offer of a person for execution. The person offered for execution did not have to be an original perpetrator of the crime because the system was based on tribes, not individuals. Blood feuds could be regulated at meetings, such as the Viking things.^[22] Systems deriving from blood feuds may survive alongside more advanced legal systems or be given recognition by courts (e.g. trial by combat). One of the more modern refinements of the blood feud is the duel. Blood money is money paid as a fine to the next of kin of somebody who was killed intentionally. ... For other uses, see Viking (disambiguation). ... A thing or ting (Old Norse and Icelandic: þing; other modern Scandinavian: ting) was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free men of the community and presided by lawspeakers. ... 1540s depiction of a 1409 judicial combat in Augsburg (Paulus Hector Mair, Munich cod. ... A duel is a formalized type of combat. ...

In certain parts of the world, nations in the form of ancient republics, monarchies or tribal oligarchies emerged. These nations were often united by common linguistic, religious or family ties. Moreover, expansion of these nations often occurred by conquest of neighbouring tribes or nations. Consequently, various classes of royalty, nobility, various commoners and slave emerged. Accordingly, the systems of tribal arbitration were submerged into a more unified system of justice which formalised the relation between the different "classes" rather than "tribes". The earliest and most famous example is Code of Hammurabi which set the different punishment and compensation according to the different class/group of victims and perpetrators. The Torah (Jewish Law), also known as the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Christian Old Testament), lays down the death penalty for murder, kidnapping, magic, violation of the Sabbath, blasphemy, and a wide range of sexual crimes, although evidence suggests that actual executions were rare.^[23] A further example comes from Ancient Greece, where the Athenian legal system was first written down by Draco in about 621 BC: the death penalty was applied for a particularly wide range of crimes. The word draconian derives from Draco's laws. An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... Look up Pentateuch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... Not to be confused with Magic (illusion). ... For other uses, see Sabbath. ... For the black metal band, see Blasphemy (band). ... The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... For other uses, see Athens (disambiguation). ... Draco (IPA pronunciation: ; from Greek , IPA ) was the first legislator of ancient Athens, Greece, 7th century BC. // Very little is known of his life. ...

Similarly, in medieval and early modern Europe, before the development of modern prison systems, the death penalty was also used as a generalized form of punishment. For example, in 1700s Britain, there were 222 crimes which were punishable by death, including crimes such as cutting down a tree or stealing an animal.^[24] Thanks to the notorious Bloody Code, 18th century (and early 19th century) Britain was a hazardous place to live. For example, Michael Hammond and his sister, Ann, whose ages were given as 7 and 11, were reportedly hanged at King's Lynn on Wednesday, the 28 September 1708 for theft. The local press did not, however, consider the executions of two children newsworthy.^[25] Middle age is the period of life beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. ... The Bloody Code was a system of laws and punishments in England from between the 1700s to mid 1800s. ... , Kings Lynn is a town and port in Norfolk, England. ... is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events March 23 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth July 1 - Tewoflos becomes Emperor of Ethiopia September 28 - Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya Kandahar conquered by Mir Wais In Masuria one third of the population die during the plague J... A young waif steals a pair of boots Stealing redirects here. ...

Although many are executed in China each year in the modern age, there was a time in Tang Dynasty China when the death penalty was actually abolished altogether.^[26] This was in the year 747, enacted by Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 712–756), who before was the only person in China with the authority to sentence criminals to execution. Even then capital punishment was relatively infrequent, with only 24 executions in the year 730 and 58 executions in the year 736.^[26] Two hundred years later there was a form of execution called Ling Chi, slow slicing, or death by/of a thousand cuts, used in China from roughly 900 CE to its abolition in 1905. For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... Abolition is the act of formally destroying something through legal means, either by making it illegal, or simply no longer allowing it to exist in any form. ... Emperor Taizong of Tang China (Chinese: , January 23, 599–July 10, 649), born LÄ­ ShìMín (Chinese: ), was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China from 626 to 649. ... Slow slicing (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , alternately transliterated Ling Chi or Leng Tche), also translated as the slow process, the lingering death, or death by/of a thousand cuts, is a form of execution used in China from roughly CE 900 to its abolition in 1905. ...

Despite its wide use, calls for reform were not unknown. The 12th century Sephardic legal scholar, Moses Maimonides, wrote, "It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent man to death." He argued that executing an accused criminal on anything less than absolute certainty would lead to a slippery slope of decreasing burdens of proof, until we would be convicting merely "according to the judge's caprice." His concern was maintaining popular respect for law, and he saw errors of commission as much more threatening than errors of omission. In the strictest sense, a Sephardi (ספרדי, Standard Hebrew Səfardi, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardî; plural Sephardim: ספרדים, Standard Hebrew Səfardim, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄ardîm) is a Jew original to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal: ספרד, Standard Hebrew Səfárad, Tiberian Hebrew Səp̄áraḏ / Səp̄āraḏ), or whose ancestors were among the Jews expelled from... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... In the common law, burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ...

The last several centuries have seen the emergence of modern nation-states. Almost fundamental to the concept of nation state is the idea of citizenship. This caused justice to be increasingly associated with equality and universality, which in Europe saw an emergence of the concept of natural rights. Another important aspect is that emergence of standing police forces and permanent penitential institutions. The death penalty become an increasingly unnecessary deterrent in prevention of minor crimes such as theft. Additionally, in countries like Britain, law enforcement officials became alarmed when juries tended to acquit non-violent felons rather than risk a conviction that could result in execution.^{[citation needed]} The 20th century was one of the bloodiest of the human history. Massive killing occurred as the resolution of war between nation-states. A large part of execution was summary execution of enemy combatants. Also, modern military organisations employed capital punishment as a means of maintaining military discipline. In the past, cowardice, absence without leave, desertion, insubordination, looting, shirking under enemy fire and disobeying orders were often crimes punishable by death. One method of execution since firearms came into common use has almost invariably been firing squad. Moreover, various authoritarian states—for example those with fascist or communist governments—employed the death penalty as a potent means of political oppression. Partly as a response to such excessive punishment, civil organisations have started to place increasing emphasis on the concept of human rights and abolition of the death penalty. For other uses, see Universalism (disambiguation). ... Deterrence is the method manipulating a persons action by negative motivational influences. ... Cowardice is a vice that is conventionally viewed as the corruption of prudence, to thwart all courage or bravery. ... For other uses of Desertion, see Abandonment. ... Insubordination is the act of a subordinate deliberately disobeying a lawful order. ... Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lung, to rob), sacking, plundering, or pillaging is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war,[1] natural disaster,[2] or rioting. ... Execution by firing squad is a method of capital punishment, especially in times of war. ...

[edit] Movements towards humane execution

Dr. Guillotin

In early New England, public executions were a very solemn and sorrowful occasion, sometimes attended by large crowds, who also listened to a Gospel message^[27] and remarks by local preachers and politicians. The Connecticut Courant records one such public execution on December 1, 1803, saying, "The assembly conducted through the whole in a very orderly and solemn manner, so much so, as to occasion an observing gentleman acquainted with other countries as well as this, to say that such an assembly, so decent and solemn, could not be collected anywhere but in New England."^[28] Portrait of Dr. Guillotine This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or more. ... Portrait of Dr. Guillotine This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or more. ... Portrait of Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (May 28, 1738 – March 26, 1814) proposed on October 10, 1789 the use of a mechanical device to carry out death penalties in France . ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... The Hartford Courant is Connecticuts largest daily newspaper, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury. ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Trends in most of the world have long been to move to less painful, or more humane, executions. France developed the guillotine for this reason in the final years of the 18th century while Britain banned drawing and quartering in the early 19th century. Hanging by turning the victim off a ladder or by dangling him from the back of a moving cart, which causes death by suffocation, was replaced by "hanging" where the subject is dropped a longer distance to dislocate the neck and sever the spinal cord. In the U.S., the electric chair and the gas chamber were introduced as more humane alternatives to hanging, but have been almost entirely superseded by lethal injection, which in turn has been criticized as being too painful. Nevertheless, some countries still employ slow hanging methods, beheading by sword and even stoning, although the latter is rarely employed.^{[citation needed]} This article is about the decapitation device. ... To be hanged, drawn and quartered was the penalty once ordained in England for treason. ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... The Spinal cord nested in the vertebral column. ... The electric chair is an execution method in which the person being put to death is strapped to a chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. ... For other uses, see Gas chamber (disambiguation). ... This article is about the execution and euthanasia method. ... Stoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment execution method carried out by an organized group throwing stones or rocks at the person they mean to execute. ...

Execution by nitrogen asphyxiation was proposed in 1995 and appears occasionally in online discussions, but as of 2008, it has not been used by any nation. Nitrogen asphyxiation is a theoretical method of capital punishment advocated by Stuart A. Creque in a 1995 article in National Review, Killing with kindness - capital punishment by nitrogen asphyxiation. The painful experience of suffocation is not caused by lack of oxygen intake but rather because of a buildup of carbon...

See also: Cruel and unusual punishment

Cruel And Unusual redirects here. ...

[edit] Abolitionism

Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria

The death penalty was briefly banned in China between 747 and 759. In England, a public statement of opposition was included in The Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards, written in 1395. More recent opposition to the death penalty stemmed from the book of the Italian Cesare Beccaria Dei Delitti e Delle Pene ("On Crimes and Punishments"), published in 1764. In this book, Beccaria aimed to demonstrate not only the injustice, but even the futility from the point of view of social welfare, of torture and the death penalty. Influenced by the book, Grand Duke Leopold II of Habsburg, famous enlightened monarch and future Emperor of Austria, abolished the death penalty in the then-independent Granducato di Toscana (Grand Duchy of Tuscany), the first permanent abolition in modern times. On 30 November 1786, after having de facto blocked capital executions (the last was in 1769), Leopold promulgated the reform of the