Why "capital offense" doesn't mean what you think it means

You've no doubt heard of the terms "capital offense" and "capital punishment", and you probably assume that capital murder is the only capital offense, and that being sent to death row to receive capital punishment is the only outcome when someone is convicted of a capital crime.  And you'd have some basis for that assumption, as other states reserve the term "capital" strictly for crimes that can result in execution.  Well, not Mississippi.

Section 1-3-4 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 reads as follows:

The terms "capital case," "capital cases," "capital offense," "capital offenses," and "capital crime" when used in any statute shall denote criminal cases, offenses and crimes punishable by death or imprisonment for life in the state penitentiary. The term "capital murder" when used in any statute shall denote criminal cases, offenses and crimes punishable by death, or imprisonment for life.

That means that armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and "simple" murder are all capital crimes in Mississippi, even though the maximum punishment for each is life in prison.

The above definition has multiple implications for the prosecution and defense of capital cases in Mississippi.  For example, a separate juror oath exists for capital crimes and for non-capital offenses. Failure to administer the capital oath may constitute reversible error in and of itself in a capital trial.  Perhaps most importantly for someone charged with a capital crime, Article III, Section 29 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 provides that "Excessive bail shall not be required, and all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses where the proof is evident or presumption great."  That means that a defendant facing a capital crime such as armed robbery or kidnapping can constitutionally be denied bail if the judge finds "the proof evident and the presumption great."