Rendering punishment by death is one of the forms of punishment that have been employed through the ages. It is one of the severest punishments. Extinguishing a life is not an ordinary incident and the means employed are also out of the ordinary. Right from early ages, the mode of conducting this punishment varied from place to place, country to country and time to time. This book chronicles the various modes of execution employed from the medieval to the present time, the nature of the case which prompted such a sentence, various cases and the laws behind them. Although majority of the countries have abolished this kind of punishment, there are still some countries where it is prevalent. Around sixty percent of the population lives in such countries. A study of global trends as a whole and more specifically the United States and India, where this trend still exists, has been conducted in this book. It also critically examines procedural precautions taken in the execution. The book is replete with maps, statistics, charts and diagrams showing the public opinion on the subject in the world and the impact of international terrorism to national security on the issue of death punishment. Some of the leading cases in the US and India have been examined, especially that of Deena, which is the only case in India where the judiciary deliberated on the method of execution of death by hanging.