Legal Definitions - executioner

An executioner is an individual officially authorized and employed by a government or state to carry out a death sentence that has been legally imposed on a convicted person. Their role is to perform the act of capital punishment as mandated by law.

• Imagine a state in the United States where capital punishment is legal. A highly trained corrections officer, designated by the state's department of corrections, is responsible for administering the specific combination of drugs during a lethal injection procedure. This officer acts as the executioner, carrying out the legally mandated death sentence on behalf of the state.

• Consider a country where capital punishment is carried out by firing squad. A specific military officer or civilian official, trained and appointed for this duty, is given the order to lead or participate in the firing squad. In this capacity, this individual serves as the executioner, performing the state's final judgment against the condemned person.