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Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the severest form of penalty for crime. The death penalty is illegal in some states. Whether or not the criminal deserves the death penalty will be decided by a jury. To be considered for the death penalty today, the crime must be no less severe than first degree murder which means murder with premeditation, the suspect must be convicted of murder beyond all reasonable doubts. Some other factors considered by the jury are the age of the victim, the way the crime was committed, the number of victims and the history of the murderer. There have been five methods of execution since recent history: Lethal Injection, Gas Chamber, Electric Chair, Hanging and Firing Squad. Recently, most death penalties have been carried out by lethal injection. The process of execution is as follows. After the execution order is received, the condemned inmate is moved into a special security area of the prison. Based on hourly checks, the staff documents his/her behavior and brings anything unusual to the warden’s attention. The inmate receives priority visiting privileges; no visitors are turned away without authorization of the warden. Every effort is made to accommodate visits by the inmate’s attorney including weekend or holiday visits if necessary. Two reports are prepared within three weeks of the established execution date. The first is 20 days before execution; the second is seven days before execution. Each report includes: Psychiatric report - Results and interpretation of examinations, interviews and history of the inmate by three psychiatrists which will be used to determine the inmate’s sanity; Chaplain report - Comments on the inmate’s spiritual and emotional well-being; Summary of behavior - Observations noted by case worker and custody staff; Cover letter from warden - Includes firsthand information from interviews, observations or communication with the inmate and his/her family or friends.
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