The Death Penalty After Furman

Today in America,  32 states, the federal government, and the U.S. Military, the death penalty is currently legal. 18 states and the District of Columbia have abolished capital punishment. In those jurisdictions that have upheld the death penalty, there are five methods by which it can be carried out: lethal injection, the electric chair, hanging, firing squad, and lethal gas*. Despite not allowing public executions the same way America did in the past, at all executions there are government witnesses, to ensure that the execution is carried out legally and ethically.