The death penalty—also known as capital punishment—refers to the process of state and federal courts sentencing persons convicted of the most serious criminal offenses (capital offenses or capital crimes) to death. The specific crimes and circumstances for which the death penalty is a potential punishment (usually murder) are defined by state and federal statutes enacted by state legislatures and the United States Congress, respectively.

These death penalty or capital punishment statutes are often located in the penal or criminal code, and often in the same statute that defines a criminal offense such as murder. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty as a potential punishment for any criminal offense.

In the state of Minnesota, the death penalty is not a legal form of punishment. Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911, and it has not been reinstated since. Therefore, no matter the severity of the crime, including those considered capital offenses or capital crimes in other states, such as certain types of murder, the state of Minnesota does not impose the death penalty. Instead, the state utilizes other forms of punishment, such as life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, for the most serious criminal offenses. It's important to note that while Minnesota state law does not permit the death penalty, federal law does, and theoretically, a person in Minnesota could be subject to the federal death penalty if convicted of certain federal crimes.