'''Capital punishment''', also known as the '''death penalty''', refers to the custom of executing prisoners who are convicted of certain heinous crimes. Such crimes are known as capital [[crime]]s, and tend to be grave crimes against persons or governments (such as [[premeditation|premeditated]] [[murder]], [[rape]] or [[treason]]). For many years, [[English law]] imposed capital punishment for the crime of polygamy. | '''Capital punishment''', also known as the '''death penalty''', refers to the custom of executing prisoners who are convicted of certain heinous crimes. Such crimes are known as capital [[crime]]s, and tend to be grave crimes against persons or governments (such as [[premeditation|premeditated]] [[murder]], [[rape]] or [[treason]]). For many years, [[English law]] imposed capital punishment for the crime of polygamy. |