capital punishment
noun
: punishment by death : the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes
an opponent of capital punishment
Examples of capital punishment in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The 38-year-old is the fourth inmate put to death this year in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.
—
Sean Murphy, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024
This case has raised significant concerns about the potential risk of executing an innocent person, an unfortunate possibility inherent in capital punishment.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 24 Sep. 2024
The court on Friday affirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment but restricted its use to only the most serious crimes, while emphasizing the need for better safeguards.
—Yian Lee / Bloomberg, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
But Chessman’s case dominated the debate about capital punishment for years.
—Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for capital punishment 
Sean Murphy, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024
This case has raised significant concerns about the potential risk of executing an innocent person, an unfortunate possibility inherent in capital punishment.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 24 Sep. 2024
The court on Friday affirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment but restricted its use to only the most serious crimes, while emphasizing the need for better safeguards.
—Yian Lee / Bloomberg, TIME, 20 Sep. 2024
But Chessman’s case dominated the debate about capital punishment for years.
—Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for capital punishment
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'capital punishment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Capital punishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capital%20punishment. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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