<P> Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United States , currently used by 31 states , the federal government , and the military . Its existence can be traced to the beginning of the American colonies . The United States is the only Western country currently applying the death penalty , one of 54 countries worldwide applying it , and was the first to develop lethal injection as a method of execution , which has since been adopted by five other countries . </P>
<P> Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United States , currently used by 31 states , the federal government , and the military . Its existence can be traced to the beginning of the American colonies . The United States is the only Western country currently applying the death penalty , one of 54 countries worldwide applying it , and was the first to develop lethal injection as a method of execution , which has since been adopted by five other countries . </P>
when was the death penalty created in the united states
when was the death penalty created in the united states
the beginning of the American colonies
the beginning of the American colonies