death penalty

noun

putting a condemned person to death

• Syn: ↑execution, ↑executing, ↑capital punishment

• Derivationally related forms: ↑execute (for: ↑executing), ↑executioner (for: ↑execution), ↑execute (for: ↑execution)

• Hypernyms: ↑corporal punishment

• Hyponyms:

↑burning, ↑burning at the stake, ↑hanging, ↑electrocution, ↑decapitation, ↑beheading, ↑crucifixion

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noun

the death penalty

: death as a punishment given by a court of law for very serious crimes

If convicted, he could face the death penalty. [=his punishment may be that he will be killed]

She opposes the death penalty. [=capital punishment]

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the ˈdeath penalty noun singular

the punishment of being killed that is used in some countries for very serious crimes

•

the

abolition/return of the death penalty

•

The two men are

facing the death penalty

.

•

a crime which carries the death penalty

 

Culture:

capital punishment [capital punishment death penalty]

Capital punishment is the legal killing of a person for a crime they have been proved in a court of law to have committed. In the US the death penalty is used in many states. In 1972 the ↑Supreme Court decided that it was ‘cruel and unusual punishment’, which the Constitution does not allow, and it became illegal until 1976, when the Court changed its mind.

Each state decides what methods of execution (= killing) will be used. This is usually a lethal injection (= an injection of a poisonous chemical) but other methods used include the electric chair (= a chair which sends a strong electric current through the prisoner’s body), and, rarely, hanging, a firing squad (= a group of soldiers who shoot the prisoner), and the gas chamber (= a room that is filled with poisonous gas when the prisoner is inside).

In the US the death penalty is passed on people found guilty of murder. Since 1976 over 900 people have been executed. Most people who receive the death sentence appeal to higher courts, and the sentence may be changed. The legal system moves slowly, so that a long time passes between the sentence being given and the execution taking place. The result is that there are about 3 500 prisoners on death row, i.e. waiting to be executed. The state governor can give a stay of execution (= a delay so that the prisoner has time to appeal to another court) or a pardon. This can happen at any time until the execution takes place.

Another reason why many death sentences are not carried out is that there is strong opposition to capital punishment. People argue that it is immoral and that if a mistake is made it cannot be put right. They also say that the death penalty does not prevent people from committing murder. Another strong argument is that more African Americans who are found guilty of murder are sentenced to death than other racial groups and this is unfair.

In Britain the death penalty for murder was abolished in 1965, but it could still in theory be passed on anyone found guilty of treason (= crimes against the state) until 1998. Some British people think that the death penalty should be brought back for crimes such as terrorism (= the use of violence for political aims) or the murder of a police officer, but Parliament has voted several times against this. In former times about 200 crimes were capital offences, punishable by hanging. The wooden gallows or gibbet on which criminals were hanged can still be seen in some places. Many criminals were hanged in public at ↑Tyburn in London, and later at ↑Newgate prison. Traitors were hanged, drawn and quartered, i.e. hanged on the gallows, then taken down while still alive and their intestines cut out. Their heads were cut off and their bodies cut into four pieces.

 

Collocations:

Criminal justice

Breaking the law

break/violate/obey/uphold the law

be investigated/arrested/tried for a crime/a robbery/fraud

be arrested/ (especially NAmE) indicted/convicted on charges of rape/fraud/(especially US) felony charges

be arrested on suspicion of arson/robbery/shoplifting

be accused of/be charged with murder/(especially NAmE) homicide/four counts of fraud

face two charges of indecent assault

admit your guilt/liability/responsibility (for sth)

deny the allegations/claims/charges

confess to a crime

grant/be refused/be released on/skip/jump bail

The legal process

stand/await/bring sb to/come to/be on trial

take sb to/come to/settle sth out of court

face/avoid/escape prosecution

seek/retain/have the right to/be denied access to legal counsel

hold/conduct/attend/adjourn a hearing/trial

sit on/influence/persuade/convince the jury

sit/stand/appear/be put/place sb in the dock

plead guilty/not guilty to a crime

be called to/enter (BrE) the witness box

take/put sb on the stand/(NAmE) the witness stand

call/subpoena/question/cross-examine a witness

give/hear the evidence against/on behalf of sb

raise/withdraw/overrule an objection

reach a unanimous/majority verdict

return/deliver/record a verdict of not guilty/unlawful killing/accidental death

convict/acquit the defendant of the crime

secure a conviction/your acquittal

lodge/file an appeal

appeal (against)/challenge/uphold/overturn a conviction/verdict

Sentencing and punishment

pass sentence on sb

carry/face/serve a seven-year/life sentence

receive/be given the death penalty

be sentenced to ten years (in prison/jail)

carry/impose/pay a fine (of $3 000)/a penalty (of 14 years imprisonment)

be imprisoned/jailed for drug possession/fraud/murder

do/serve time/ten years

be sent to/put sb in/be released from jail/prison

be/put sb/spend X years on death row

be granted/be denied/break (your) parole

more collocations at ↑crime