Capital Punishment Capital punishment is punishment by death for committing a crime. Since the early 1800's most executions have resulted from convictions for murder. The death penalty has also been imposed for such serious crimes as armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and treason. There is a lot of conflict between people about whether or not capital punishment is effective in discouraging crime. In the early 1990's, 36 states of the United States had laws that permitted the death penalty. These laws were greatly influenced by a 1972 decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which had banned the death