study which looked at deterrence and the death penalty.
It was posted on Grits for Breakfast and concluded that
there was no deterrence.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009
Criminologists: Death penalty does not deter
Via Capital Defense Weekly, I was interested to see this new survey of top US criminologists (pdf) on the question of whether the death penalty deters murder, a debate refocused by several much-disputed studies (mostly by economists) in the last six years claiming to find a deterrent, after "scores" of studies by criminologists over previous decades had reached the opposite conclusion. The authors analyze recent studies on death penalty deterrence and follow up by replicating a survey of criminologists published 12 years ago, before the recent econometric studies were published.
Despite these new studies, however, most criminologists (88.2%) still "do not believe the death penalty is a deterrent," researchers found, while 87% said abolishing the death penalty would have no effect on murder rates.
A whopping 90.9% thought it was largely or totally accurate that "Politicians support the death penalty as a symbolic way to show they are tough on crime," but 89.5% said it was largely or totally inaccurate that "The death penalty significantly reduces the number of homicides."
The empirical evidence contradicting the deterrence thesis is quite strong. For example, in 2007, the authors note, the homicide rate in states with active death penalty statutes was 42% higher than that of non-death-penalty states. Read the full paper (pdf, 20 pages with appendices) for much more detail and references to research on both sides of the debate.
MORE: From the Dallas News Death Penalty Blog.
Despite these new studies, however, most criminologists (88.2%) still "do not believe the death penalty is a deterrent," researchers found, while 87% said abolishing the death penalty would have no effect on murder rates.
A whopping 90.9% thought it was largely or totally accurate that "Politicians support the death penalty as a symbolic way to show they are tough on crime," but 89.5% said it was largely or totally inaccurate that "The death penalty significantly reduces the number of homicides."
The empirical evidence contradicting the deterrence thesis is quite strong. For example, in 2007, the authors note, the homicide rate in states with active death penalty statutes was 42% higher than that of non-death-penalty states. Read the full paper (pdf, 20 pages with appendices) for much more detail and references to research on both sides of the debate.
MORE: From the Dallas News Death Penalty Blog.
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1 comment:
Of course the death penalty deters.
Deterrence and the Death Penalty: A Reply to Radelet and Lacock
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/02/deterrence-and-the-death-penalty-a-reply-to-radelet-and-lacock.aspx
"Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let's be clear"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html
"The Death Penalty: More Protection for Innocents"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/05/the-death-penalty-more-protection-for-innocents.aspx
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