Capital Punishment or Death Penalty is a penalty of death imposed on a criminal convicted of a serious crime. The word "capital" in "Capital punishment" refers to a person's head. The usual alternative to the death penalty is a long-term or life imprisonment.
The earliest historical records contain evidence of capital punishment. It was mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC). The Bible prescribed death as the penalty for more than 30 different crimes, ranging from murder to fornication.
English Law recognized seven major crimes by the end of the 15th century: treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape and arson. By 1800, more than 200 capital crimes were recognized, and as a result, 1000 or more persons were sentenced to death each year although most sentences were commuted by royal pardon.
Such severe punishment and torture began to die out in the 18th century when a democratic political philosophy and humanitarian movement grew in strength. The number of offenses punishable by death was reduced in all leading countries. Also, penalties involving torture disappeared with the idea that punishment and death should be swift and humane, whether by guillotine, hanging, the garrote, or the headman's axe. .
A trend also began to develop in which life imprisonment was a suitable alternative punishment to death.
.
Execution has been a common punishment throughout the world since the Middle Ages, and was inflicted for a large number of crimes including petty offenses involving property. In England, during the 18th century, death was the punishment for several hundred specific offenses. Most death sentences also involved torture, such as burning at the stake, breaking on the wheel, and slow strangulation. .
Internationally, the United States is one of the leaders in the use of the death penalty. According to Amnesty International, China led all nations internationally in 1998 with 1,700 executions.