Present simple

1. Capital punishment is punishment by death for committing a crime.

a. .
2. People disagree about whether capital punishment is moral or is effective in discouraging crime.
a.
.
3. These laws limit the death penalty to murder and to other specified crimes that result in a person's
death.
a.
.
4. Such crimes include armed robbery, hijacking, and kidnapping.
a. , ,
.
5. The United States is the only Western industrialized nation where executions still take place.
a. .
Present Perfect
6. Since the early 1800's, most executions have resulted from convictions for murder.
a. 1800-
.
Past simple
7. In the late 1990's, 38 states of the United States had laws that allowed the death penalty.
a. 1990- - 38 .
8. But the court left open the possibility that the death penalty might be constitutional.
a.
.
9. After the 1972 decision, many state legislatures passed new capital punishment laws designed to
satisfy the Supreme Court's requirements.
10. In 1976, the court upheld death sentences for three men convicted of murder under new laws in
Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
11. But the court struck down laws that made the death penalty mandatory (required) for certain
crimes.
12. In the 1700's, England had more than 200 capital offenses.
13. The United Kingdom abolished capital punishment in 1969
14.
Past Perfect
15. The court had banned the death penalty as it was then imposed.