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
- MAY 10, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
An article in the New York times stated that support...
An article in the New York times stated that support for capital punishment in the United State's was dropping
- MAY 10, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The human rights group Amnesty International asked...
The human rights group Amnesty International asked President Bush to commute Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's death sentence
- MAY 8, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Former Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh, who...
Former Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh, who led two U
- MAY 8, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The 75 year old writer Gore Vidal was one of three...
The 75 year old writer Gore Vidal was one of three people chosen by MCVeigh to be a witness to his final moments in the death chamber of Terre Haute in Indiana
- MAY 5, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
An ABC News Poll found that 51% of Americans support...
An ABC News Poll found that 51% of Americans support a nationwide moratorium on executions while a commission studies whether the death penalty is applied fairly
- MAY 4, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A nationwide poll released earlier this month by USA...
A nationwide poll released earlier this month by USA Today shows that general support for the death penalty has fallen to 59%
- APRIL 30, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Sister Helen Prejean, an activist for the abolition...
Sister Helen Prejean, an activist for the abolition of the death penalty and writer of the book which inspired the film 'Dead Man Walking', declared herself in favour of a live television broadcast of the McVeigh execution so that all would be able to see
- APRIL 29, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Vice President Dick Cheney said that Oklahoma City...
Vice President Dick Cheney said that Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh deserved to be executed, dismissing a papal plea to spare the life of the man responsible for the worst act of domestic terrorism in U
- APRIL 28, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Pope John Paul II has asked President Bush to spare...
Pope John Paul II has asked President Bush to spare the life of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who is scheduled to be executed on May 16
- APRIL 26, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A Reuters/Zogby poll found that 75 % of respondents...
A Reuters/Zogby poll found that 75 % of respondents favoured the death penalty, while 22 % said they were against executions in all circumstances
- APRIL 25, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Speaking at the UN Commission on Human Rights during...
Speaking at the UN Commission on Human Rights during the vote on the resolution on the death penalty, a representative of the United States said his delegation would not support the resolution as drafted
- APRIL 24, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International Report Finds Increase in Death...
Amnesty International Report Finds Increase in Death Penalty "Volunteers" A new report about volunteers and the death penalty by Amnesty International, "The Illusion of Control," found that since the death penalty was reinstated, 89 of the 707 executions