capital offense
9
8.2
- noun
- /ˈkæpɪtl əˈfɛns/
- Formal
:
delito capital
- In June 2008, the Supreme Court invalidated a Louisiana statute that made the rape of a child a capital offense.
- made it a capital offense
But if there's not a threat to the officer, fleeing a scene is not a capital offense, right?
- But if there's not a threat to the officer, fleeing a scene is not a capital offense, right?
Examples
-
Adultery under the Shari'a can be a capital offense.
Academic text (1999) -
Drug dealing is a capital offense.
-
That is a capital offense.
-
Both made it a capital offense to speak out against the government.
Blog text (34) -
A recent law in Texas makes multiple killings a capital offense," Scott explained to me.
Fiction book (1999) -
Are you aware... that stealing rations is a capital offense at sea?
-
No convicted service member has received the death penalty even though murder is a capital offense under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.
Academic text (2006) -
Similarly, the South had a high execution rate for blacks convicted of capital offenses.
Academic text (1994) -
Any man who, by action or omission, jeopardizes the lives... of any or all among us... commits a capital offense.
-
The murderer was sentenced to death because he committed a capital offense.
Synonyms
A crime people consider serious enough to deserve death as punishment, often used for very bad behavior
How Serious
- Formal
9
8.2
- Specialized
310
5.5
∞
1.4
- US
351
3.3
- Specialized
133
6.0
47
7.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'offense' (crime) plus 'capital' (suggesting great seriousness) makes it clear to a learner that this is a very serious crime, so part of the meaning is inferable from the constituents. However, the specific legal sense 'punishable by death' is a specialized/historical sense of 'capital' that a B1 learner who only knows the basic meaning 'important' is unlikely to predict, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase capital offense comes from an old word capital meaning 'head'. Long ago, the most serious crimes were punished by cutting off the head, so a capital offense now means a crime that can bring the 'death penalty'.