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 Oklahoma, the death penalty is a legal form of punishment for certain capital offenses, primarily aggravated murder. The state statutes that govern capital punishment are found in the Oklahoma Statutes, specifically Title 21, which deals with crimes and punishments. Oklahoma uses lethal injection as the primary method of execution, but the law also provides for alternative methods if lethal injection is ever found to be unconstitutional or otherwise unavailable. These alternative methods include nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution, and firing squad, in that order. Oklahoma is known for having one of the most active death chambers in the United States. It's important to note that the application of the death penalty in Oklahoma, as in other states, is subject to ongoing legal challenges and public debate. The statutes require that certain aggravating circumstances be present for a crime to be eligible for the death penalty, and the decision to seek the death penalty is typically at the discretion of the district attorney.