In the United States, 31 states and the federal government have statutes that authorize the death penalty. States without the death penalty are Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin; the death penalty is also outlawed in the District of Columbia. Once imposed for a variety of offenses, including armed robbery and rape, the death penalty today is imposed almost exclusively for first-degree murder.