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
- APRIL 11, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Of the 50 states that make up the United States of America, 38 have the death penalty.
Of the 50 states that make up the United States of America, 38 have the death penalty.
- APRIL 9, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Assured that accused murderer Paul Eduardovich Goldman...
Assured that accused murderer Paul Eduardovich Goldman would not face the death penalty in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a French court agreed to extradite him to the United States
- MARCH 11, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In Raleigh, an Army appeals court set aside the death...
In Raleigh, an Army appeals court set aside the death sentence of Army Sgt
- MARCH 2, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Mexican President Vicente Fox will complain to President...
Mexican President Vicente Fox will complain to President Bush about the pending execution in Oklahoma of a Mexican double murderer when the pair meet this weekend, Mexican officials said
- FEBRUARY 27, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Chinese authorities reprimanded the United States for...
Chinese authorities reprimanded the United States for what it called "double standards" on human rights, after the US State Department accused China of "backsliding on key human rights issues
- FEBRUARY 26, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Thailand's human rights credentials declined in 2003,...
Thailand's human rights credentials declined in 2003, the United States said in a blunt criticism over the kingdom's deadly war on drugs
- FEBRUARY 25, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The United States accused China's communist leaders...
The United States accused China's communist leaders of backsliding on their human rights record as arrests of democracy activists and extrajudicial killings continued apace during 2003
- FEBRUARY 17, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Senator John Kerry, who now seems close to winning...
Senator John Kerry, who now seems close to winning the Democratic nomination to run against President George Bush in the upcoming US presidential elections, declared himself for a moratorium because of "serious systemic flaws" in the country's death penal
- FEBRUARY 8, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife, Cherie Blair,...
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife, Cherie Blair, renewed her attack on America's use of the death penalty
- JANUARY 11, 2004United StatesDEATH PENALTY
US Ambassador Harry K Thomas expressed concern at the...
US Ambassador Harry K Thomas expressed concern at the death sentence issued by a Dhaka court to Faisal Alam Ansary, a Bangladesh born US citizen, saying his trial had not been fair and impartial
- DECEMBER 26, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
(continued from above) In 1988, the Supreme Court prohibited...
(continued from above) In 1988, the Supreme Court prohibited the execution of defendants who were younger than 16 at the time of their crimes
- DECEMBER 26, 2003United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The decision by a Virginia jury to spare Lee Boyd Malvo's...
The decision by a Virginia jury to spare Lee Boyd Malvo's life after finding him guilty in the 2003 Washington-area sniper rampage may hasten a movement to abolish the death penalty for juvenile killers, legal experts say