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Questions tagged [capital-punishment]

Punishment by death.

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Were USA states really this disconnected in 1964, and was bigamy really punished by death?

I've just watched the The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode Three Wives Too Many from 1964. In it, a man has a wife in four different USA states, traveling between them constantly and keeping them secret from one another. Apparently, the punishment was…
B. E.
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Can a legally sentenced but escaped offender be legally executed by a drone attack?

Imagine the fictional situation: someone (e.g. a U.S. citizen) commits a capital offense, he is arrested and legally sentenced to death. Then he somehow escapes. His hiding place is discovered, and the only way to kill him is by a drone attack. Can…
Gray Sheep
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Can a medical professional give purely palliative care to a prisoner being executed?

In the United States, medical professionals are not allowed to participate in executions of prisoners. Are they allowed to give palliative care to the prisoners during the process, if the care given serves only to reduce the prisoner's suffering and…
Someone
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Why do prisoners spend so long on death row?

In the USA, once appeals have been exhausted, why do prisoners spend so much time on death row? My personal opinions on death penalty aside, I would expect that once the sentence is final, it should be carried out without much further delay.
Ciclon Saramil
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What happens if the Indonesian Constitutional Court rules in favor of an executed person?

Prior to the executions of drug smugglers in Indonesia earlier this year, Australian officials had pressed for a delay in the executions, due to a last-ditch appeal in the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. President Joko Widodo did not grant the…
HDE 226868
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Sentenced to death when pregnant

What happens if a female is sentenced to death while pregnant. Would the execution be delayed until she gave birth? Or even longer (e.g., until the child is weaned)?
Magnus
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How does the Supreme Court review stays of execution so fast?

I've been reading the Wikipedia article about the Execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, and the section about the first execution attempt says: at 7:59 p.m. the Eleventh Circuit issued a stay of execution At approximately 10:20 p.m. the United States…
Neith
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Self defense during execution

Let's say someone has been sentenced to death and is about to be killed by lethal injection. While they are being brought into the execution room, they manage to escape the grip of the prison guards and try to escape. A short fight ensues during…
Grunzwanzling
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A hypothetical situation in which the State cannot prevent executing a known innocent person

I originally asked this over on Worldbuilding, was told it was a good question but not a good fit for their space, so I'll see if I get any bites here. I'll give you the TL;DR up front, and then explain why I'm asking for anyone who wants more…
KeithS
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Can a prisoner choose not to be autopsied after execution or is it a legal requirement?

I'm a writer so I've been trying to do some research for one of my MCs who ends up getting executed but has the ability to come back from the dead, preferably with a body intact so an Autopsy isn't something they'd desire after the execution and…
SKKennell
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How do Saudi judges decide whether or not a person has become an adult and is eligible for the death penalty?

One of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is that a person under the age of 18 - or else under the age of majority - can not be executed. Two countries - Saudi Arabia, and Sudan - still have the death penalty for juveniles,…
HDE 226868
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Could someone who participated in a legal execution in the USA be arrested for murder in France?

According to Wikipedia France is the most visited country in the world. At the same time, the USA is still practicing the death penalty. For example, 28 people were executed in 2015. For each execution a lot of evidence can be potentially gathered…
FrenchStudent
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Are there any countries that impose the death penalty for being in the country illegally?

I'm referring to simply being in the country without authorization, or having entered illegally; what is called in the US "undocumented", and which most countries treat with deportation. ChatGPT tells me that Saudi Arabia and Iran execute people for…
Paul Richter
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Was there ever a law that if someone sentenced to death survived their execution they would be released free?

I read in a biography that if someone was sentenced to death penalty and the execution squad misses when firing at him, he will be released as a free man. Is it true that there ever was such a law or was it ever practiced?
Niklas Rosencrantz
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In the United States, can someone take the death penalty for someone else?

Could a person be executed in the place of someone else in United States?
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