Punishment is defined as the intentional infliction of pain by a legal authority to persons who, capable of choice, have breached established standards of conduct. Under this broad definition, parents, employers or private associations, as well as the criminal justice system, may impose punishment. Traditionally, justification for punishment has been found in its retributive and utilitarian purposes. Utilitarian justifications include rehabilitation, deterrence and incapacitation.
Capital punishment is defined as execution under legal authority as the penalty for a crime. Capital punishment is an ancient form of punishment dating back to Neanderthal man, and while it is no longer practised in the UK it is still used in many parts of the USA. In the past, hanging and beheading were the most frequently used forms of capital punishment, while in the modern world less directly painful forms are used, such as the electric chair or the lethal injection.
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