Execution warrant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page. |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
 |
| Criminal procedure |
|---|
| Criminal trials and convictions |
| Rights of the accused |
| Fair trial · Speedy trial · Jury trial |
| Counsel · Presumption of innocence |
| Exclusionary rule (U.S.) |
| Self-incrimination · Double jeopardy (Not E&W) |
| Verdict |
| Acquittal · Conviction |
| Not proven (Scot.) · Directed verdict |
| Sentencing |
| Mandatory · Suspended · Custodial |
| Dangerous offender (Can. E&W) |
| Capital punishment · Execution warrant |
| Cruel and unusual punishment |
| Post-conviction events |
| Parole · Probation |
| Tariff (UK) · Life licence (UK) |
| Miscarriage of justice |
| Exoneration · Pardon |
| Related areas of law |
| Criminal defenses |
| Criminal law · Evidence |
| Civil procedure |
| Portals: Law · Criminal justice |
An execution warrant or death warrant is a warrant which authorizes the execution of a judgment of death (capital punishment) on an individual.
[edit] United States of America
In the United States the Governor of the state, or the President of the United States in federal death penalty cases, issues an execution warrant when a person has been sentenced to death in a local or district court, after trial and conviction, and usually after appeals are exhausted. This protects the executioner from being charged with murder. Normally when a death warrant is signed and an execution date is set, the condemned person is moved from his or her death row cell to a death watch cell, which is typically located adjacent to the execution chamber. Usually, the government agency charged with carrying out an execution, normally the state's Department of Corrections or the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in federal cases, has a limited time frame, normally about 60 days, from the date the warrant is signed, to complete the execution process, or the warrant expires and the condemned person is returned to the death row cell, where he or she will await another execution date. The Governor, an appeals court, or a state or federal Supreme Court, or in federal death penalty cases the President, may grant a stay of execution at any time, even when the condemned is being prepared for execution, such as when the needle has been inserted into the condemned's arm.
