The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty
Many believe that the death penalty in fact does not deter crime. If this is the case then dismissing capital punishment would require us to eliminate all prisons because they do not seem to have any more of an effect on the deterrence of crime than the death penalty.
The belief is that those states who do have the death penalty have higher crime rates than those who do not. The states that do have the death penalty are forced to because of their higher crime rates, not the other way around. We must put into consideration that every state is different and because of population, number of cities, and most important the crime rates.
One of the biggest arguments antagonists make is that criminals do not take the time to think of the consequences of committing a heinous crime. If this is true then think of a criminal pointing a gun at a potential victim while a policeman stands behind the criminal ready to shoot if the criminal shoots. The threat of death would most certainly deter the criminal away from committing murder. Abolitionists claim that criminals are immune to fear, but that is not the case.
Researchers proved the point that the death penalty in fact acts as a deterrent and lowers the number of overall murders. During the suspension of the death penalty from 1972-1976, information was gathered across the nation. In 1960, there were 56 executions in the U.S. and 9,140 murders. In 1964, when there were only 15 executions, the number of murders had risen to 9, 250. The number of murders gradually rise when the number of executions are down. In 1969, there were no executions and the number of murders was 14,950. After six years had passed without executions, 20,510 murders occurred rising to 23,040 in 1980 after only two executions since 1976. The number of murders grew as the number of executions shrank. In summary, from 1960 to 1980 the number of annual murders progressed from 9,960 to 23,040. This was a 131 percent increase while the murder rate doubled from, homicides per 100,00 person, 5.1 to 10.2.
The belief is that those states who do have the death penalty have higher crime rates than those who do not. The states that do have the death penalty are forced to because of their higher crime rates, not the other way around. We must put into consideration that every state is different and because of population, number of cities, and most important the crime rates.
One of the biggest arguments antagonists make is that criminals do not take the time to think of the consequences of committing a heinous crime. If this is true then think of a criminal pointing a gun at a potential victim while a policeman stands behind the criminal ready to shoot if the criminal shoots. The threat of death would most certainly deter the criminal away from committing murder. Abolitionists claim that criminals are immune to fear, but that is not the case.
Researchers proved the point that the death penalty in fact acts as a deterrent and lowers the number of overall murders. During the suspension of the death penalty from 1972-1976, information was gathered across the nation. In 1960, there were 56 executions in the U.S. and 9,140 murders. In 1964, when there were only 15 executions, the number of murders had risen to 9, 250. The number of murders gradually rise when the number of executions are down. In 1969, there were no executions and the number of murders was 14,950. After six years had passed without executions, 20,510 murders occurred rising to 23,040 in 1980 after only two executions since 1976. The number of murders grew as the number of executions shrank. In summary, from 1960 to 1980 the number of annual murders progressed from 9,960 to 23,040. This was a 131 percent increase while the murder rate doubled from, homicides per 100,00 person, 5.1 to 10.2.
"More Executions, Fewer Murders"
