Death penalty only deters murder in states with lots of executions

[quaoar]

That's the conclusion of a study by an Emory University law professor who writes in the Christian Science Monitor.

I am a supporter of the death penalty, but I have never believed that it deters anyone from murder. I just don't think that someone who is robbing a liquor store doesn't pull the trigger because he thinks he might be executed one day 20 years down the road. Most people who murder don't think they will be caught, so the potential punishment is irrelevant.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1214/p09s01-coop.html

In a study recently published by the Michigan Law Review, I use three well-known data sets common to empirical studies of crime and well-tested empirical methods. I find that the impact of executions differs among states with the death penalty. Although executions appear to deter crime in approximately one-fifth of these states, in the remaining 80 percent, executions show no deterrent effect. Indeed, in some of these states, executions produce the opposite effect: Murders increase after executions.

Why does this happen? One important factor is that, on average and with exceptions, the states where capital punishment deters murder tend to execute many more people than do the states where capital punishment incites crime or has no effect.

An intuitive explanation for this is that each execution creates two opposing reactions: a brutalization effect and a deterrent effect. For a state's first few executions, the deterrent effect is small. Only if a state executes many people does deterrence grow; only then do potential criminals become convinced that the state is serious about the punishment, so that they start to reduce their criminal activity. For most states, when the number of executions exceeds some threshold level, the deterrent effect begins to outweigh the brutalization effect. In the four-fifths of states where executions either increased murders or had no effect, the brutalization effect either counterbalances or outweighs the deterrent effect.

[theoldman]

1. Not is Texas

We have a high murder rate even though we execute a lot of people.

[quaoar]

4. The author of the article claims

that the frequent executions in Texas have created a deterrent effect:

My study shows a strong deterrent effect there, seemingly motivated by the hundreds of people that Texas has executed in recent decades.

I haven't researched this myself, so I'd be interested to know if anyone has any figures to show whether this is true or just BS.

[ET Awful]

2. Well, the highest murder rate, per capita is in a Death Penalty state

the lowest per capita murder rate is in a non-death penalty state.

You do the math.

If the death penalty worked as a deterrent, Texas would have a homicide rate of zero.

[depakid]

3. It'll be interesting to see what experts think- law reviews ARE NOT

peer reviewed like other academic research. It's not social science.

[rpannier]

5. The conclusion is false and faulty

Texas executes more people than any state, yet the murder rate in Texas has not dropped. Louisiana has one of the highest murder rates in the country.
States without the death penalty don't even make the top 10 list in numbers of murders or murders based on proportion of the population.

[quaoar]

7. I believe her conclusion

was that states that execute a lot -- like Texas -- have seen a drop in murders compared to previous years in that same state, not compared to other states.

[rpannier]

8. I did a little checking on the US Government web site

Almost every large city and every state experienced a drop in their violent crime rates from 1992-2000. Not surprisingly, this was also during the time when the economy showed imporvement and more people were working.
In Texas' case there is no evidence that their use of the DP caused the crime rate to drop. States withouth the Death Penalty, except for Michigan, showed a greater drop in their violent crime rate.
The crime rate index total for Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are all higher than the national average and El Paso is lower.
My problem with her conclusion is that it doesn't seem to take other factors into account. If it did, it would take into account trends around the country. It works under the faulty premise that Texas executes more people than any other state, therefore the DP must be working.

[skipos]

6. Ave. murder rate 5.1 in DP states, 2.9 in nonDP states (per 100,000people)

That was in 2004. More info here:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=12&did=169#MRord

[KingFlorez]

9. It's a myth

The death penalty doesn't deter crime, alot of people just try harder to get away with it.

[leesa]

10. I'm glad you admit you're just in it for the vengeance.. At least you're

honest. There's no other possible motive for executing someone who's locked up without possibility of parole.