Study says Capital Punishment Does NOT Deter

The Journal itself is well worth reading and there is a link at
the bottom of the article to the issue that has the report

From Crime and Justice Newsletter

Capital Punishment Not Likely A Murder Deterrent: Study
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Contrary to the common belief that capital punishment deters
murderers, a study by Tomislav Kovandzic, Lynne Vieraitis,
and Denise Paquette Boots of the University of Texas at Dallas
concludes that most offenders do not likely weigh the costs
and benefits of crime and are not likely to be deterred by
the existence of the death penalty. Many homicides are
committed when offenders are under extreme emotional
duress and are unlikely to be thinking of the legal sanctions.
The study, in the November 2009 issue of the journal Criminology
and Public Policy, edited at Florida State University, says
that for the death penalty to serve as a deterrent, the
probability of getting caught and punished must be
greater than any benefit the offender could achieve
from committing the crime. Commenting on the study,
Paul Rubin of Emory University contends that the mere
probability of execution is likely to deter at least some
potential murderers. Rubin finds studies of capital punishment
problematic because only convicted criminals are
examined-not those who have been deterred-and
because the death penalty is imposed too infrequently
and erratically to measure its deterrent effects well.
The journal is sent to members of the American Society of Criminology.

Criminology & Public Policy journal