The following outline is a topical guide to capital punishment articles on Wikipedia.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering such a punishment is a death sentence, and carrying it out is an execution. A prisoner sentenced to death and awaiting execution is condemned and is commonly said to be "on death row".
Main articles Capital punishment
Capital punishment by country Capital punishment debate in the United States Capital punishment for cannabis trafficking Capital punishment for drug trafficking Capital punishment for homosexuality Capital punishment for non-violent offenses Death row Executioner Libertarian perspectives on capital punishment List of methods of capital punishment Public execution Race and capital punishment in the United States Religion and capital punishment Summary execution Wrongful execution
Legal Legal concepts
Benefit of clergy Black cap Capital murder Capital punishment for cannabis trafficking Capital punishment for drug trafficking Capital punishment for homosexuality Capital punishment for non-violent offenses Death recorded Death sentence with reprieve Death-qualified jury Execution warrant Felony murder and the death penalty in the United States Judicial override Pleading the belly Stay of execution Summary execution
Legislation
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 Anti-Sacrilege Act Black Act 1723 Bloody Code Capital offences in China Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1868 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Coinage Offences Act 1832 Death Penalty for Terrorists Law Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Act 1677 Forgery Act 1837 Homicide Act 1957 Lethal Injection Secrecy Act Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 Malicious Injuries to Property (Ireland) Act 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1837 Piracy Act 1837 Punishment of Offences Act 1837 Racial Justice Act Rocco Code Special military tribunal law Treachery Act 1940 Treason by Women Act (Ireland) 1796 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
Abolition
Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 Caribbean Territories (Abolition of Death Penalty for Murder) Order 1991 Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1997 Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973 Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act Forgery, Abolition of Punishment of Death Act 1832 Judgment of Death Act 1823 Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life Act 2023 Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1864–1866 Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1949–1953 Section Eleven of the Constitution of South Africa Substitution of Punishments of Death Act 1841 Twenty-first Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
International law
LaGrand case Resolutions concerning death penalty at the United Nations Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Soering v United Kingdom
Referendums
1879 Swiss referendums 1972 California Proposition 17 1978 California Proposition 7 1978 United States Virgin Islands death penalty referendum 1979 Guamanian referendum 1990 Bermudian death penalty referendum 2001 Irish constitutional referendums 2012 California Proposition 34 2016 California Proposition 62 2016 California Proposition 66
Case law United States
Aikens v. California Andres v. United States Atkins v. Virginia Ayers v. Belmontes Baze v. Rees Beck v. Alabama Bell v. Cone Bigby v. Dretke Bobby v. Bies Breard v. Greene Brumfield v. Cain Bucklew v. Precythe Caldwell v. Mississippi Callins v. Collins Coker v. Georgia Cruz v. Arizona Davila v. Davis Davis v. Ayala Dunn v. Ray Enmund v. Florida Felker v. Turpin Florida v. Nixon Ford v. Wainwright Furman v. Georgia Glass v. Louisiana Glossip v. Chandler Glossip v. Gross Glossip v. Oklahoma Godfrey v. Georgia Gregg v. Georgia Gutierrez v. Saenz Hall v. Florida Harbison v. Bell Harris v. Alabama Heckler v. Chaney Herrera v. Collins Hildwin v. Florida Hill v. McDonough Hopkins v. Reeves House v. Bell Hurst v. Florida Kahler v. Kansas Kansas v. Marsh Kennedy v. Louisiana Leal Garcia v. Texas Leland v. Oregon Lisenba v. California Lockett v. Ohio Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber Lowenfield v. Phelps Madison v. Alabama Maples v. Thomas Martel v. Clair Maynard v. Cartwright McCleskey v. Kemp McGautha v. California McKinney v. Arizona McWilliams v. Dunn Medellín v. Texas Moore v. Texas (2017) Morgan v. Illinois Nance v. Ward O'Dell v. Netherland Oregon v. Guzek Panetti v. Quarterman Payne v. Tennessee Penry v. Lynaugh People v. Anderson People v. LaValle Pitts and Lee v. Florida Powell v. Alabama Pulley v. Harris Ring v. Arizona Robinson v. United States Rooney v. North Dakota Roper v. Simmons Rubenstein v. State Schlup v. Delo Schriro v. Summerlin Shafer v. South Carolina Skipper v. South Carolina Smith v. Spisak Smith v. Texas (2007) South Carolina v. Gathers Spaziano v. Florida Stanford v. Kentucky Sumner v. Shuman Tennard v. Dretke Thompson v. Oklahoma Tison v. Arizona United States v. Tsarnaev Uttecht v. Brown Walton v. Arizona Whitmore v. Arkansas Wilkerson v. Utah Williams v. Pennsylvania Witherspoon v. Illinois Wood v. Allen Zant v. Stephens
Other countries
Bowe v R Boyce v R Callan v Ireland & The Attorney General Kindler v Canada (Minister of Justice) Machhi Singh case Matthew v The State Miller v R Mohamed v President of the Republic of South Africa Ong Ah Chuan v Public Prosecutor Pratt v A-G for Jamaica R v Hughes Reference Re Ng Extradition S v Makwanyane Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar blasphemy case United States v Burns Yong Vui Kong v Public Prosecutor
Trials
Burgos trials Conviction and exoneration of Glenn Ford Death sentence of Erfan Soltani Death sentences during the Mahsa Amini protests Eichmann trial People's Court (Germany) Sanity proceeding for Patrick Eugene Prendergast Testimony in the trial of Patrick Eugene Prendergast Trial and conviction of Charles Flores Trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Trial of John Brown Trial of Louis Riel Trial of Patrick Eugene Prendergast
Juvenile capital punishment
Capital punishment for juveniles in the United States Juvenile death row inmate (Japan) Scottsboro Boys Stop Child Executions Campaign
Methods
Blood eagle Blowing from a gun Brazen bull Breaking wheel Burning of women in England Crucifixion Crushing (execution) Crux simplex Damnatio ad bestias Death by boiling Death by burning Death by sawing Decapitation Decimation (punishment) Descriptions in antiquity of the execution cross Drowning pit Execution by drowning Execution by elephant Execution by firing squad Execution by shooting Execution of Thai royalty Falling (execution) Flaying Forced suicide Fustuarium Garrote Gas chamber Hanged, drawn and quartered Ikido Immurement Impalement Ishikozume Lingchi List of methods of capital punishment Mazzatello Nine familial exterminations Poena cullei Relaxado en persona Republican marriage Scaphism Stoning Strangling Suffocation in ash Waist chop
Decapitation
Beheading in the Ottoman Empire Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia Decapitation Decapitation in Islam Executioner's sword Guillotine Halifax Gibbet Hiroyasu Koga Linköping Bloodbath Maiden (guillotine) Stockholm Bloodbath
Lethal injection
Julius Mount Bleyer Romell Broom Jay Chapman (physician) Execution van Lethal injection Carlo Musso Participation of medical professionals in American executions
Hanging
Dule tree Gallows Hanging Hanging in the United States Hangman's knot Necktie social Official Table of Drops Patibular fork Sierra County Sheriff's Gallows Upright jerker
Gibbeting
Caxton Gibbet Combe Gibbet Gibbet of Montfaucon Gibbeting
Electricity
Harold P. Brown Electric chair Gruesome Gertie New York State Electrician Old Smokey Old Sparky Alfred P. Southwick State electrician Yellow Mama
Gas chamber
Execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith Gas chamber Inert gas asphyxiation
Equipment
Brazen bull Breaking wheel Caxton Gibbet Combe Gibbet Crux simplex Drowning pit Dule tree Execution chamber Execution van Executioner's sword Gallows Garrote Genickschussanlage Gibbet of Montfaucon Gibbeting Joseph-Ignace Guillotin Gas chamber Guillotine Halifax Gibbet Hangman's knot Fred A. Leuchter Maiden (guillotine) Official Table of Drops Patibular fork Scaffold (execution site) Sierra County Sheriff's Gallows Upright jerker
Electric chairs
Electric chair Gruesome Gertie Old Smokey Old Sparky Yellow Mama
Notable executions
Jerry Abershawe Eugene Aram Richard Arnold and William Critchard Spence Broughton Robert Carlton Anthony Chebatoris James Cliffen Mark Codman Marie-Josephte Corriveau Saint Evilasius Execution of Elizabeth Jeffries and John Swan Execution of Frederick Lashley William Fairall Victor Feguer Gibbeting of James Cook Gibbeting of John Haines and Thomas Clarke Gibbeting of Robert and William Drewitt Gibbeting of Stephen Watson Gibbeting of Tom Otter Gibbeting of William Bennington Gibbeting of William Hawkins and Abraham Tull Arthur Gray (Hawkhurst Gang) John the Painter William Kidd Thomas Kingsmill (Hawkhurst Gang) Last use of capital punishment in Spain Michal Morey Leonard Shockley Anatoly Slivko Amy Spain James Stewart of the Glen William Suffolk Trial and execution of José Rizal Charles Vane
Botched executions
Charles Becker Joseph Lewis Clark Frank J. Coppola Ángel Nieves Díaz Roxana Druse Eva Dugan John Louis Evans Wilbert Lee Evans Execution of Clayton Lockett Execution of Dennis McGuire Execution of Joe Nathan James Jr. Execution of John Grant Execution of Joseph Wood Execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith Earl Gardner (murderer) Arthur Gooch (criminal) Jimmy Lee Gray Donald Harding Rattlesnake James William Kemmler Tom Ketchum John McCaffary Pedro Medina (murderer) Gordon Stewart Northcott James Paster and Stephen McCoy Christa Pike Elizabeth Potts Martin Stickles Jesse Tafero Wallace Wilkerson Daniel Wilkinson (murderer) William Williams (murderer) Henry Wirz
Wrongful executions
Joe Arridy Derek Bentley Celia (slave) Chaska (Dakota) Sir Edward Crosbie, 5th Baronet Timothy Evans Execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Anacleto González Flores Thomas and Meeks Griffin Robert Hubert Huugjilt Ernst Jennrich Judicial murder Leschi (Nisqually) Hirtzel Levy August Lütgens William Jackson Marion Mahmood Hussein Mattan Saleh Mohammadi Nora Parham Miguel Pro Salvador Puig Antich Chipita Rodriguez Colin Campbell Ross Atefeh Sahaaleh Maolra Seoighe Nie Shubin George Stinney Bruno Tesch (antifascist) Meir Tobianski Ankarette Twynho John Ury Tommy Lee Walker Alexander McClay Williams Campden Wonder Wrongful execution
Filmed executions
2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution Gheorghe Alexianu Ion Antonescu Mihai Antonescu Jenny-Wanda Barkmann Elisabeth Becker Beheading of Ghulam Nabi Pierre Bonny Curt Bruns Elena Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu Manuel Martínez Coronado Andrew Grant DeYoung Anton Dostler Execution of Al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy Execution of Saddam Hussein Karl Hermann Frank Roberto Girón and Pedro Castillo Saddam Hussein Preap In Dr. Ishola Wanda Klaff Adnan Menderes James Morelli Ewa Paradies Johann Pauls Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg Gerda Steinhoff Frank E. Tolbert Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu Turki bin Saud Al Kabeer Eugen Weidmann
Public executions
1969 Baghdad hangings Crucifixion Crucifixion of Jesus Didrik Slagheck Execution by elephant