The death penalty or capital Punishment, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (Latin caput). A capital crime was originally one punished by the severing of the head.
The death penalty, can be considered to be a culturally universal, excluding those with state religious proscriptions against it. Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union will prohibit capital punishment.
60% of the worldwide population live in countries where executions take place insofar as the four most populous countries in the world the People's Republic of China, India, United States and Indonesia, apply the death penalty.
Pages and Listings are in reverse chronological order:
News Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Writes A Dissent To A Stay Of Execution
05-08-2013
by Radley Balko (Huffington Post)
It's bad enough when that kind of posturing comes from a district attorney trying to cover his own mistakes. But it's appalling to hear it come from a state supreme court justice -- and not in a speech or an offhand remark, but in an actual opinion.
News Justice Dept. admits flaws in forensic testimony in Mississippi death-row case
05-03-2013
Washington Post
The Justice Department has acknowledged flaws in forensic testimony by the FBI that helped convict a man in the 1992 slayings of two Mississippi State University students, and federal officials have now offered to retest the DNA in the case.
News Maryland House, like Senate, votes to repeal death penalty
03-15-2013
Reuters
The Maryland House of Delegates voted on Friday to overturn the state's death penalty, putting it a step closer to becoming the 18th state to abolish executions.
News Maryland: Execution Ban Advances
03-07-2013
AP
A push to abolish the death penalty in Maryland cleared a major hurdle on Wednesday when the Senate approved the measure, which appears to have support in the House and the backing of Gov. Martin OMalley.
News Court Nixes Va. Appeal in Case of Low IQ Inmate
02-25-2013
AP
The lower court had concluded that Winston's lawyers did not try hard enough to show Winston was mentally disabled, and thus, ineligible to be executed under a 2002 Supreme Court ruling. The state argued Winston waited too late to
Headlines: Court Nixes Va. Appeal in Case of Low IQ Inmate -- Maryland: Execution Ban Advances -- Maryland House, like Senate, votes to repeal death penalty -- Justice Dept. admits flaws in forensic testimony in Mississippi death-row case -- Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Writes A Dissent To A Stay Of Execution --
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