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
- FEBRUARY 4, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Although international law prohibits the execution...
Although international law prohibits the execution of people who were under 18 at the time of the crime, on February 4, 1999, Oklahoma executed Sean Sellers, 29, for murders he committed when he was 16 years old
- FEBRUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
A Gallup Poll taken in February, 1999, found that...
A Gallup Poll taken in February, 1999, found that 71% of those surveyed favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder, while only 22% were against it
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The pace of USA executions is on the rise, pushed by...
The pace of USA executions is on the rise, pushed by laws passed earlier this decade that limit appeals
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In the USA there are 38 retentionist states (of which...
In the USA there are 38 retentionist states (of which at least 35 have very active death penalty dockets), 11 circuits with many federal district courts in each circuit all handling death penalty cases, all making law, some in conflict with others
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Capital punishment in America is some sort of idiosyncratic...
Capital punishment in America is some sort of idiosyncratic lottery
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In 1999, five foreign nationals - a Thai, a Filipino,...
In 1999, five foreign nationals - a Thai, a Filipino, a Canadian and two German brothers - were executed in the United States
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The results of two new studies underscore the continuing...
The results of two new studies underscore the continuing injustice of racism in the application of the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 1999United StatesDEATH PENALTY
With 84 inmates released from death rows because of...
With 84 inmates released from death rows because of innocence, growing doubts about how the death penalty is applied have prompted some state lawmakers to call for a moratorium on executions to study whether the system is working fairly