capital offense

capital offense
n.
An offense for which execution is a possible punishment; also called a capital crime.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


capital offense
A criminal charge that is punishable by the death penalty. Crimes punishable by death vary from state to state. These offenses may include first degree (premeditated) murder, murder with special circumstances, rape with additional bodily harm, and the federal crime of treason. (See also: special circumstances)
Category: Criminal Law
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.

capital offense
n.
   any criminal charge which is punishable by the death penalty, called "capital" since the defendant could lose his/her head (Latin for caput). Crimes punishable by death vary from state to state and country to country. In 38 American states these offenses may include first degree murder (premeditated), murder with special circumstances (such as intentional, multiple, involved with another crime, with guns, of a police officer, or a repeat offense), and rape with additional bodily harm, and the federal crime of treason. A charge of a capital offense usually means no bail will be allowed.
   See also: bail, capital punishment

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • capital offense — crime which is punishable by the death sentence …   English contemporary dictionary

  • CAPITAL PUNISHMENT — CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, the standard penalty for crime in all ancient civilizations. In the Bible Many of the crimes for which any biblical punishment is prescribed carry the death penalty. The three methods of executing criminals found in the Bible… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • capital — cap·i·tal 1 adj [Latin capitalis, from caput head, a person s life (as forfeit)] 1 a: punishable by death capital murder b: involving execution a capital case 2 [Medieval Latin capitalis chief, principal, from Latin …   Law dictionary

  • Capital punishment in Ohio — is legal. Since 1897, a total of 341 individuals have been executed in the U.S. state of Ohio. A total of 191 people are under a sentence of death in the state as of October 13, 2007. The current method of execution in Ohio is lethal… …   Wikipedia

  • offense — of·fense or of·fence /ə fens/ n 1: a violation of the law; esp: a criminal act nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy U.S. Constitution amend. V see also lesser included offense 2 …   Law dictionary

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