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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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Word History and Origins

Origin of capital punishment¹

First recorded in 1575–85

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who directed prosecutors to seek capital punishment, said in April that Mr Thompson's death was "an act of political violence".

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In the capital punishment formal notice, filed on Thursday, prosecutors say Mr Mangione poses a future danger because of his expressed intention to target the healthcare industry and rally support to his cause through violence.

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Whole life orders are considered the harshest penalty available to courts since capital punishment was abolished.

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Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnes Callamard said the "tide is turning" on capital punishment, adding that "it is only a matter of time until the world is free from the shadow of the gallows".

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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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capital outlay capital resources

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