Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United States, currently used by 31 states and the federal government. Its existence can be traced to the beginning of the American colonies. The United States is the only Western country currently applying the death penalty, one of 57 countries worldwide applying it, and was the first to develop lethal injection as a method of execution, which has since been adopted by five other countries.\n\nHow many states in usa have death penalty? OK. Let's think. My stream of consciousness:
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To answer the question, consider the following: Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United States, currently used by 31 states and the federal government. The answer is 31 states.
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