capital punishment

/ˌkæpədl ˌpʌnɪʃmənt/

/ˈkæpɪtəl ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/

Other forms: capital punishments

Capital punishment is the death penalty — having the state put someone to death as punishment for a crime.

Capital punishment is the worst punishment possible — the criminal is killed for committing a crime. In the United States, capital punishment is reserved for very serious crimes such as murder. Capital punishment is legal in most states, but not all, and is always a hotly debated topic. There have been many ways to enforce capital punishment over the years, including hanging and electrocuting, but these days it’s usually done by lethal injection.

Definitions of capital punishment

1. noun

   putting a condemned person to death
   synonyms: death penalty, executing, execution

   types:

   burning, burning at the stake

   execution by fire

   hanging

   a form of capital punishment; victim is suspended by the neck from a gallows or gibbet until dead

   burning, electrocution

   execution by electricity

   beheading, decapitation

   execution by cutting off the victim's head

   crucifixion

   the act of executing by a method widespread in the ancient world; the victim's hands and feet are bound or nailed to a cross

   auto-da-fe

   the burning to death of heretics (as during the Spanish Inquisition)

   type of:

   corporal punishment

   the infliction of physical injury on someone convicted of committing a crime