It is final and irreversible. Its imposition has been described as arbitrary and its deterrent value has been doubted . In the past, people were often executed by severing their head from their body. Another 3,500 wait on death rows. The United States is one of the very few industrialized countries in the world which executes criminals.
Numbers vary depending upon the precise wording of the question asked by the pollsters.
This lists the current status of the death penalty, worldwide. Prosecuting Attorney maintains a listing of over 1000 death penalty links, both pro and con. A summary of a 15 page annual report, prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics lists statistical data about capital punishment in the United States. The The Death Row Page provides a central reference of death row prisoners' web pages, or information on the net about their specific cases. Moratorium 2000 promotes a petition against the death penalty which calls for a temporary cessation of executions.