the death penalty

noun

: death as a punishment given by a court of law for very serious crimes : capital punishment

If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

She opposes the death penalty.

Examples of the death penalty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Patricia Wenskunas, founder of the California advocacy nonprofit Crime Survivors, which opposed the abolition of the death penalty, criticized Newsom's decision. — Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026

The American Civil Liberties Union, who has said the implementation of the death penalty reflects racial bias, applauded the announcement. — ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026

Florida carried out a record-tying 19th execution of the year in an unusual instance of three states administering the death penalty on the same day. — David Fischer, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026

Stevenson is one of the people Newsom has talked to about the death penalty, and the founder of the Legacy Museum in Alabama, which traces the line from slavery to mass incarceration. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026