Capital punishment

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, Capital punishment has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Megyn Kelly (Nov 2026). Frames the discussion about the multiple executions happening the same day and legal scrutiny after a botched execution in Tennessee.

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 that an offender be punished in such a manner is called a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital