The US federal government lists 41 capital offenses that are punishable by death. See the full list below.
The capital offenses include espionage, treason, and death resulting from aircraft hijacking. However, they mostly consist of various forms of murder such as murder committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting, murder during a kidnapping, murder for hire, and genocide.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, “The federal death penalty applies in all 50 states and U.S. territories but is used relatively rarely. About 50 prisoners are on the federal death row, most of whom are imprisoned in Terre Haute, Indiana. Sixteen federal executions have been carried out in the modern era, all by lethal injection, with 13 occurring in a six-month period between July 2020 and January 2021… The use of the federal death penalty in jurisdictions that have themselves opted not to have capital punishment—such as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and many states—has raised particular concerns about federal overreach into state matters.”
| Code | Type of Crime | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 USC § 1324 | Murder related to the smuggling of aliens |
| 2. | 18 USC 32 18 USC 33 18 USC 34 | Destruction of aircraft, motor vehicles, or related facilities resulting in death |
| 3. | 18 USC § 36 | Murder committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting |
| 4. | 18 USC 37 | Murder committed at an airport serving international civil aviation |
| 5. | 18 USC § 115 |
Source:
Death Penalty Information Center, “Federal Laws Providing for the Death Penalty,” deathpenaltyinfo.org (accessed Aug. 19, 2021)
Death Penalty Information Center, “Federal Death Penalty,” deathpenaltyinfo.org (accessed Aug. 19, 2021)