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lethal injection
capital punishment
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- capital punishment
lethal injection, method of executing condemned prisoners through the administration of one or more chemicals that induce death. Lethal injection—now the most widely used method of execution in the United States—was first adopted by the U.S. state of Oklahoma in 1977, because it was considered cheaper and more humane than either electrocution or lethal gas (see gas chamber). Texas was the first state to administer lethal injection, executing Charles Brooks, Jr., on December 2, 1982. By the early 21st century, lethal injection was the sole method of execution in most U.S. states where capital punishment was legal, and it was ...(100 of 970 words)