The issue of capital punishment and advocates for its abolition predate the modern era. Widely used in ancient times, examples of capital punishment can be found in 1750 B.C. in the Code of Hammurabi. From the fall of Rome to the beginnings of the modern era, capital punishment was practiced throughout Western Europe. The modern movement for the abolition of capital punishment began in the 18th century with the writings of Montesquieu and Voltaire, as well as Cesare Beccaria's Essay on Crimes and Punishments. In the United Kingdom, Jeremy Bentham was influential in having the number of capital crimes reduced in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of the first countries to abolish capital punishment included Venezuela (1863), San Marino (1865), and Costa Rica (1877). As of early 1999, 65 countries had abolished the death penalty, including all of the members of the European Union. In some other countries, capital punishment was retained only in the cases of treason and war crimes. In fewer instances, death remained a penalty under the law, though, in practice, executions were not carried out.

Of those countries that did utilize the death penalty as part and parcel of their legal system, most can be found in the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. The United States and China are believed to impose capital punishment most frequently. In the United States, since the 1970s, almost all capital sentences were imposed for homicide. It is important to note that sentencing by federal courts in the United States are the exception. In criminal cases, states and localities almost always retain jurisdiction and legal authority to execute convicted criminals. Today, 38 states and the federal government have reinstituted the death penalty.

There has been intense debate regarding the constitutionality, effect, and humanity of capital punishment: Critics charge that executions are carried out inconsistently, or, more broadly, that they violate the "cruel and unusual punishment" provision of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Supporters of the death penalty counter that this clause was not intended to prohibit executions.

In the 1972 case of Furman v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment as then practiced was unconstitutional because it was applied disproportionately to certain classes of defendants, notably those who were black or poor. This ruling voided the federal and state death penalty laws then in effect but left the way open for Congress or state legislatures to enact new capital punishment laws, a process that began almost immediately. In Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the court allowed capital punishment to resume in certain states. A separate penalty phase of the trial, during which the jury reviews mitigating circumstances and weighs the need for capital punishment, is now required for some capital cases.

In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute a prisoner using lethal injection; some 75 percent of executions now employ this method. The gas chamber, hanging, the firing squad, and, most commonly, the electric chair are still used in some states. Florida's electrocutions, however, have been heavily criticized following several grisly malfunctions. Texas easily leads all other states in the number of executions carried out. In recent years, the Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death-row prisoners to file appeals; at the same time, studies continue to show striking disparities in the imposition of capital punishment.

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