Why do some American states still have the death penalty?

Each state in the United States has some rights to make decisions that only apply to their own state. This includes the death penalty. Over time, states have felt that the death penalty should not be used in punishment for a crime. However, the majority of the states have kept the death penalty. Another term for death penalty is capital punishment.

The states that have kept the death penalty are 31 of them and includes many of the western states and all of the southern states. Some of the states that have abolished the death penalty include Alaska, New York, Main and New Mexico, to name a few. Most of the states that kept the death penalty only use the death penalty for major crimes.