Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The phrase 'capital punishment' comes from the Latin word for the head. A 'corporal' punishment is carried under due process of law. Capital punishment is a matter of active controversy in several countries and states, and positions can vary within a single political ideology or cultural region. Amnesty International holds that the death penalty breaches human rights, in particular the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Both rights are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948.