Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the execution (killing) of a person by the state as punishment for a crime. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. Historically, the execution of criminals and political opponents was used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. Among countries around the world, almost all European and many Pacific Area states (including Australia, New Zealand and Timor Leste), and Canada have abolished capital punishment. In Latin America, most states have completely abolished the use of capital punishment, while some countries, however, like Brazil, allow for capital punishment only in exceptional situations, such as treason committed during wartime. The United States (the federal government and 36 of its states), Guatemala, most of the Caribbean and the majority of democracies in Asia (e.g. Japan and India) and Africa (e.g. Botswana and......

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Title: What Is Capital Punishment?
Approximate Word Count: 836
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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