capital punishment

American  

[kap-i-tl puhn-ish-muhnt] / ˈkæp ɪ tl ˈpʌn ɪʃ mənt /

noun

1. punishment by death for a crime; death penalty.

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capital punishment British  

noun

1. the punishment of death for a crime; death penalty

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capital punishment ¹ Cultural  

1. The death penalty for a crime.

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capital punishment ² Cultural  

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

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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.

Etymology

Origin of capital punishment

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

But instead of ending capital punishment in the United States, the Furman decision set off a scramble in which states reenacted their death penalty laws in the hope of curing the problem Justice Douglas identified.

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026

The Court had in prior decades issued many emergency orders in election and capital punishment cases.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment, with the last prisoners executed in 1997.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

After many countries around the world abolished capital punishment, Israel is taking steps in the opposite direction.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

Behind his gentle presentations, Walter had become fiercely opposed to capital punishment, an issue he readily admitted he had never thought about until his own experience confronting it.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson