LEGAL SYSTEM »» LAWS »» CAPITAL PUNISHMENT »» Dec 28, 2020

Capital punishment is permitted by our Constitution but limited under the Eighth Amendment which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is used almost exclusively for aggravated murders committed by mentally competent adults. There are about 2,620 inmates currently on Death Row and 22 people were executed in 2019. Since 1976, 34 states, the military and our federal government have executed about 1,516 inmates who were convicted of murdering at least one person. Capital punishment is currently authorized in 28 states. Supporters of the death penalty believe it serves justice, is a fitting punishment for murder, and allows closure for the families of crime victims. Others claim retribution, or the biblical concept of an