Capital punishment,
death penalty or
execution is government sanctioned punishment by death. The
sentence is referred to as a
death sentence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as
capital crimes or
capital offences, such as
first degree murder,
terrorism, and
espionage. The term
capital originates from the
Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (referring to execution by
beheading). There are many
execution methods; one widely practiced form historically that is the most common modern method used in jurisdictions with capital punishment is
hanging.