Capital punishment, death penalty or execution is government sanctioned punishment by death. The sentence is referred to as a death sentence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital is derived from the Latin capitalis ("of the head", referring to execution by beheading).

Thirty-six countries actively practice capital punishment, 103 countries have completely abolished it de jure for all crimes, six have abolished it for ordinary crimes (while maintaining it for special circumstances such as war crimes), and 50 have abolished it de facto (have not used it for at least ten years and/or are under moratorium).

One part of Social Issues is the Anti-Abortion movements or pro-life movements have been in the limelight over the past few years. This topic has become a hot debate amongst masses and the United States pro-choice movement is a socio-political movement is of the view that women should have the legal right to go for abortion. In other words, it can be said that women has the right to terminate her pregnancy without any if's and but's.

Another topic that has come to light is same sex marriages to be legalized or not. The legalization of same sex marriages is accepted in few states, whereas other states ensure that there is no adherence to legalization of same sex marriages. Moreover, it is seen that people moving from one state to another to ensure they live peacefully with their same sex partners. There are indications that proceedings might come in favor of same sex marriages.

Another social issue that people argue about is the death penalty. Seasoned criminals have always been able to protect themselves from the fear of capital punishment or death penalty. They are able to come under the shelter is due to the reason that many countries have abolished this type of punishment and many are under the pressure of human rights commission to omit it. However, three dozens of countries do participate in this severe punishment. Death penalty is still a debatable topic in this globe.