It is part of an overall societal mosaic in which individuals are held fully accountable for their behavior. While opponents of capital punishment suggest that imprisonment of murderers is sufficient to incapacitate them, very few offenders serve a full life term; many who are released go on to kill again and again. Federal law now provides for the death penalty for a variety of serious offenses, and 37 States have reenacted or reaffirmed capital punishment statutes. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of this sentence in the presence of procedural safeguards. By permanently incapacitating killers and other serious offenders, capital punishment provides a means for protecting the lives of the innocent. Federal statutes providing for the death penalty are appended.