Proponents of capital punishment argue that it deters crime by creating a disincentive for committing serious crimes.

Opponents of capital punishment argue that it is cruel and unusual punishment, that it is irreversible, and that it is applied disproportionately to minorities and the poor.

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

The term 'wrongful execution' refers to the execution of a person who was later found to be innocent.

As of 2023, over 200 people have been exonerated from death row in the United States since 1973.

China has the highest rate of capital punishment in the world, with thousands of executions carried out each year.

San Marino was the first country to abolish capital punishment, doing so in 1865.

As of 2023, 23 U.S. states have abolished capital punishment.

Lethal injection is the most common method of execution in the United States.

The term 'state-sanctioned murder' refers to the intentional killing of a person by a government official.

The term 'retributivism' refers to the belief that capital punishment is morally justified because it is a just punishment for certain crimes.

The term 'abolitionism' refers to the belief that capital punishment is morally wrong and should be abolished.

Immanuel Kant argued that capital punishment is a violation of the right to life, which he believed is a fundamental human right.

Plato argued that capital punishment is a necessary evil in order to maintain social order and deter crime.

Michel Foucault argued that capital punishment is a form of social control that is used to maintain power and order in society.