United States
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal republic with a strong federal tradition
- CONSTITUTION
- September 17, 1787, in effect from March 4, 1789
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- federal court system based on English common law. Each state has its own legal system
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Congress (Senate and House of Representatives)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S. District Courts; state and county courts
RELIGIONS
51.3% Protestants; 23.9% Catholics; 1.7% Mormons; 1.6% other Christians; 1.7% Jews; 0.7% Muslims; other unspecified or no religion
From the country
- MARCH 7, 2005United StatesDEATH PENALTY
USA. BUSH ADMINISTRATION QUITS PACT USED IN CAPITAL CASES
the Bush administration decided to pull out of an international agreement that opponents of the death penalty have used to fight the sentences of foreigners on death row in the United States, officials said.
- MARCH 4, 2005United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
UNITED KINGDOM. BRITON 'MAY FACE EXECUTION' IF EXTRADITED TO US
Babar Ahmad, a British terrorist suspect, could face the death penalty or imprisonment in Guantánamo Bay if extradited to the US, his lawyers said.
MARCH 4, 2005MexicoDEATH PENALTYUS. BUSH ORDERS COURTS TO GIVE FOREIGN NATIONALS ON DEATH ROW FURTHER REVIEW
the White House has ordered state courts to consider the complaints of 51 Mexican foreign nationals on death row in the United States, International Herald Tribune reported.
- FEBRUARY 28, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. US STATE ANNUAL REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN 2004 DENOUNCES SUMMARY EXECUTIONS
the United States on Monday kept up its feud with Syria and Iran, blasting their regimes as represseive and their human rights records as fraught with abuses ranging from arbitrary arrest to torture.
- DECEMBER 17, 2004SpainDEATH PENALTY
SPAIN – US. EXTRADITION AGREEMENT SIGNED
Justice Minister Juan Fernando López Aguilar and United States Attorney General John Ashcroft on December 17 reinforced cooperation on the fight against crime and terrorism, with the signing of an agreement covering extradition and mutual legal assistance
- DECEMBER 9, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
a court in Rome is holding up a decision on whether to extradite...
a court in Rome is holding up a decision on whether to extradite...
- NOVEMBER 14, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
the number of people sentenced to death reached a 30-year low in 2003
the number of people sentenced to death reached a 30-year low in 2003
- OCTOBER 27, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has urged U.S. House and Senate conferees...
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has urged U.S. House and Senate conferees...
- OCTOBER 27, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
in Rome, 2 ex-death row convicts later found to be innocent appealed in Rome for...
in Rome, 2 ex-death row convicts later found to be innocent appealed in Rome for...
- OCTOBER 13, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Justices Address Teen Executions
Justices Address Teen Executions
- OCTOBER 9, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Congress passed and sent legislation to President Bush...
Congress passed and sent legislation to President Bush that would give rape victims and convicted felons greater access to DNA testing
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US death penalty opponents hope that Democrat John Kerry, a former prosecutor...
US death penalty opponents hope that Democrat John Kerry, a former prosecutor...