Capital Punishment as Deterrent

I find no conclusive evidence to support the view that the death penalty is or is not an effective deterrent in controlling crime. Opponents of capital punishment argue that it is not a deterrent, because in some states where capital punishment is allowed the crime rate goes up. Others argue that capital punishment deters violent crime, though it is difficult to provide numerical evidence. Dozens of studies have examined the relationship between murder and the death penalty comparing murder rates in areas with the death penalty to those in areas without the death penalty. Murder rates have been examined when the death penalty was added or removed in various areas and countries. None of these studies establish that the death penalty results in lower murder rates or that the abolition of the death penalty increases murder rates.

If the death penalty deters, the deterrent effect is so small that even the most sophisticated attempts have been unable to measure it. Studies have suggested that the death penalty is no more effective than imprisonment in deterring others from committing violent crime.

General deterrence is the idea that punishing an offender deters others from committing similar crimes. Specific deterrence refers to the fact that executing a known offender prevents that person from killing again, deterring at least that specific offender.

Certainly, capital punishment will not deter all crime. Evidence suggests that psychotic and deranged killers, members of organized crime, and street gangs do not appear to be deterred from committing acts of murder by the implementation of capital punishment. A person who is irrational or wants to commit a murder will do so whether capital