The death penalty in the U.S. has overwhelmingly targeted men, with women accounting for less than 1% of all executions. New analysis examines how states carry out capital punishment—through lethal injection, electrocution, or other methods—and why legal and ethical debates persist over fairness, racial disparities, and the reliability of evidence in these cases. Critics argue the system disproportionately affects marginalized groups, while supporters defend it as justice for the most heinous crimes. The discussion highlights deep divisions over whether execution remains a morally defensible punishment in modern America.
Women make up about 1 percent of US executions. How do states put people to death, and why is it contested?
