Latest Capital Punishment News
Only 58 countries in the world still regularly impose the death penalty, but it is widely accepted in the United States. Public opinion polls show that between 60 and 60 percent of Americans approve the use of the death penalty in some cases. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, about 85 percent of executions occur in the south - half of them in Texas.
Amnesty International reports that 52 people were executed in the United States in 2009 - the bulk by lethal injection. In the summer of 2010, Utah put Ronnie Lee Gardner, convicted of murdering a bartender and an attorney during an escape attempt, to death by firing squad, the first time the method was used since 1996. The case reopened the debate about the use of the death penalty and whether or not some methods are inhumane.
Death penalty cases are notoriously expensive to prosecute because of the number of appeals involved. CBS "Sunday Morning" recently reported that since the advent of DNA evidence, 17 prisoners on death row had been found innocent and released.
So why do so many Americans support the death penalty?
New York Law School professor Robert Blecker told "Sunday Morning" it is because "some people deserve to die, and we have an obligation to kill them."
Whether you are interested in reading more about death penalty controversies or high-profile cases where capital punishment is a factor, check out the latest reports and video below.
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 03.09.11
- Play CBS Video Giffords to Move to Houston Rehab Center
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 01.19.11
- Play CBS Video Gruesome Abortionist Murder Case
- Play CBS Video Tucson Suspect Loughner Insanity Plea?
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online, 01.04.11
- Play CBS Video Police: More Victims of Grim Sleeper?
- Play CBS Video Evening News Online 12.02.10
- Play CBS Video House Votes to Censure Rangel
- Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row
Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row
Read Full Story - Ohio to give condemned better attorney access
Ohio to give condemned better attorney access
Read Full Story - Illinois ends death penalty, clears death row
Governor clears death row moments after Illinois becomes 15th state to end capital punishment; law takes effect July 1
Read Full Story - Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row
Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row
Read Full Story - Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row
Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row
Read Full Story - Expert: Only question is will Loughner get death
Former fed prosecutor says man charged in Tucson shootings will be convicted, almost for sure, says defense's best hope is for insanity plea
Read Full Story - Death penalty still an option in WikiLeaks case
Prosecutors' promise not to seek death penalty for Bradley Manning doesn't bind military, experts say
Read Full Story - China drops death penalty for some economic crimes
China drops death penalty for some economic crimes
Read Full Story - Tucson jury sentences border activist to death
Tucson jury sentences border activist to death
Read Full Story - Ga. man sentenced to death in beheading murder
Drifter found guilty for 2007 beheading of nurse gets unanimously recommended death penalty by jury
Read Full Story - Ohio executes one-time neo-Nazi who killed 3
Frank Spisak set Ohio record for longest time on death row; Last to die by scarce drug sodium thiopental
Read Full Story - Ohio ready to execute Cleveland campus killer of 3
Ohio ready to execute Cleveland campus killer of 3
Read Full Story - Ohio Ready To Execute Cleveland Campus Killer Of 3
Ohio Ready To Execute Cleveland Campus Killer Of 3 Despite His Mental Illness Claim
Read Full Story - Board Rejects Condemned Killer's Mercy Plea
Parole Board In US Rejects Mercy For Condemned Killer Whose Victim's Family Opposes Execution
Read Full Story - Ohio Catholic Bishops Seek To End Death Penalty
Ohio Catholic Bishops Support State Supreme Court Justice's Call To End Use Of Death Penalty
Read Full Story