The countries that use the death penalty. Blue: No death penalty, Green: No death penalty, except in wartime, Orange: death penalty, but no people executed in the last 10 years, Red:Death penalty for certain crimes

Execution of a war criminal in 1946

Death penalty, also called capital punishment, is when a government or state executes (kills) someone, usually but not always because they have committed a serious crime. A crime that can be punished with the death penalty is called a capital crime or a capital offense.

Executions in most countries have become rarer in recent centuries. The death penalty is a disputed and controversial topic.