<P> 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 . </P>
how many us states currently use capital punishment
31 states