Death Penalty and the Question Of: Deterrent or Not?

One of the most widely revered and scrutinized laws in society today is the crime of Capital Murder. As of today, 38 states have some form of execution for crimes deemed heinous or severe enough. Texas is the most well know of these states, because Texas executes far more than any other state. Harris County, TX alone executes more than any single state in the union. Today in Texas as well as other states, the main topic of discussion and debate is whether the death penalty is deterrent to murder, or merely another form of punishment.

Currently an overwhelming majority of the American population believe in the practice of capital punishment of some kind of another. The opinion of whether the death penalty is a deterrent to crime is disagreed about depending what particular criminologist you're talking to. A new study from the University of Florida found that 90% of the nation's top criminologists say killing people to deter violent crime is an immense waste of money and time (Hunter 1).

Of the dozen states that chose not to enact the death penalty of the Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that it was constitutionally permissible, 10 of the states have had homicide rates below the national average. Furthermore, half the states with the death penalty have homicide rates higher than the national average. During the last 20 years, the homicide rates in states with the death penalty has been 48 percent to 101 percent higher than in states without the death penalty (Bonner and Fessenden 1). In the U.S. today, 67% of Police Chiefs do not believe that the death penalty significantly reduces the numbers of murders (Robinson 2). These findings would definitely lean toward the death penalty not being a deterrent for murder.

On the other hand, some advocates of the death penalty believe that by the death penalty being in place, we are actually saving 7 to 8 lives a year. They believe that his is caused by the fact that the criminal is never going to be allowed out of prison, therefore, not being able to commit any other murder or violent crime.