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Capital punishment is illegal in 16 US states, but federal prisoners can still be executed. The US is among the top five nations for executions, with about 2,500 people executed annually. Over 75% of countries have abolished the death penalty, but the US, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan have retained it. Beheading was a legal form of punishment in Utah from 1851 to 1888 but was never used.
Capital punishment was illegal in 16 of the 50 U.S. states as of early 2011, although federal prisoners from any state could still be executed. The United States is among the top five nations for carrying out executions.
More facts about capital punishment:
About 2,500 people are executed each year. While it’s impossible to keep an exact record, more than 1,500 of them are estimated to be executed in China. Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United States round out the top five nations in terms of total executions. Figures for some countries, including North Korea and Malaysia, are not being released.
More than three-quarters of the world’s countries had abolished the death penalty by 2011. The only developed nations that had retained the death penalty were the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.
Between 1851 and 1888, beheading was a legal form of capital punishment in Utah, although it was never used.
