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capital offense

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.

capital offense n. any criminal charge which is punishable by the death penalty, called "capital" since the defendant could lose his/her head (Latin for caput). Crimes punishable by death vary from state to state and country to country. In some American states these offenses may include first degree murder (premeditated), murder with special circumstances (such as intentional, multiple, involved with another crime, with guns, of a police officer, or a repeat offense), and rape with additional bodily harm, and the federal crime of treason. A charge of a capital offense usually means no bail will be allowed. (See: capital punishment, bail)



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Rahman was taken into custody and charged with a capital offense under Islamic law that bars citizens from converting to other faiths.
Rahman is the Afghan citizen arraigned in Kabul for the supposed crime of becoming a Christian, a capital offense under Islamic Sharia law.
Instead, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered on December 10,1610, convicted of the capital offense of being a Catholic priest.
 
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