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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Can a police officer be sentenced to death if convicted of murder?
Saturday, June 20, 2020
By Claire Zimmerman
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YES
No law specifically protects a police officer from the death penalty. In the U.S. the death penalty can be imposed only for killing another person (or for treason), and only by federal and military courts and courts in 28 states. Governors in three other states have imposed moratoriums on the death penalty. The other 22 states have abolished it.
A Virginia police officer, Frank J. Coppola, was convicted of the robbery and murder of Muriel Hatchell and sentenced to death in 1978. He was executed in 1982.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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