Also known as: capital offences · capital offenses · capital crime
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A crime for which the death penalty may be imposed.
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Connor Clark, age seventeen, killed a rival during a street fight. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and filed notice seeking the death penalty. The court struck the capital punishment request because Clark was under eighteen when the crime occurred.
Charles Cunningham faced trial for a murder carrying the death penalty. Without funds, he asked the court to appoint counsel. The judge refused, stating appointment was available only for capital offenses, forcing Cunningham to proceed pro se.
Curtis Cannon was convicted of murder. The judge alone found an aggravating factor that raised the maximum sentence to death. The appellate court vacated the death sentence because the jury never determined the fact that turned the offense into a capital crime.
Claire Campbell was prosecuted under a state sodomy statute that once treated the conduct as a capital offense. The court noted the common-law classification but applied current penalties after the statute was amended.
Cecilia Cabrera received a death sentence for murder after a trial featuring broad jury discretion. The reviewing court set aside the sentence because the procedures allowed the penalty to be imposed in an arbitrary manner.
Cody Callahan was sentenced to death for killing a white victim. Statistical evidence showed stark racial disparities in capital sentencing. The court rejected the claim because the data did not prove purposeful discrimination in his specific case.
A capital offense is one for which the death penalty may be imposed. This classification triggers heightened procedural protections, including special jury instructions and sentencing phases.
Supporting sources
An offender under eighteen at the time of the crime cannot receive the death penalty even if the offense would otherwise qualify as capital. The prohibition is categorical under the Eighth Amendment.
Supporting sources
Yes. Any fact that increases the maximum penalty to death must be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt rather than by a judge alone.
Supporting sources
…criminal abortion statute, Lord Ellenborough's Act, 43 Geo. 3, c. 58, came in 1803. It made abortion of a quick fetus, § 1, a capital crime, but in § 2 it provided lesser penalties for the felony of abortion before quickening, and thus preserved the "quickening" distinction. This contrast was continued in the general revision…