Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The effectiveness of the death penalty
Argument for the death penalty
Arguments for and against the death penalty
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The effectiveness of the death penalty
In the past death sentence was believed as the best punishment for anyone who took another’s life. This was practised in many Nations until questions as to whether it was really an adequate punishment arose. Does killing the murderer really help the situation? The penalty later got attacks for religious groups and people who based their arguments on the morality of the punishment. Questions like, who really suffers when the convict is killed is it him or his family? Other queries would be as to whether killing the murderer benefits the family of the victim.
Rubin (2002) analysed the consequences of death penalty and asked the question “Will an execution have the effect of deterring other potential murders, or will it merely satisfy some desire for vengeance?” In his article Rubin tries to relate the homicide rates and the death penalty in trying to find out whether having the capital punishment actually deters homicide.
Rubin (2002) argued that comparing the homicide rates may not be a good idea because according to him the rates of homicides are totally dependent on other issues like income gaps, racial compositions and urbanisation. He went ahead and argued that;
A state may have capital punishment precisely because it has a higher murder rate and is trying to control this evil. In such a case, observing capital punishment and a high murder rate says nothing about causality, and the deterrence argument is that rates would be even higher if there were no capital punishment. (Rubin 2002).
If his argument is anything to go by, it is easier to conclude that the homicide rates are not determined by the punishment frameworks in place. But later in his paper Rubin described a research he conducted in which he discovered that indeed...
... middle of paper ...
...lin, Steven. (1978). Deterrence and Social Control Source: American Sociological Review. Vol. 43 (2)
Litwak, Eugene. Three ways in which the law Acts as a Means of Social Control: Punishment, Therapy and Education.
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Overview: Ten Reasons Why Capital Punishment is Flawed Public Policy. Retrieved from http://www.ncadp.org/index.cfm?content=5
Radelet, Michaell and Lacock, Tracil. Recent Developmentss. Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates?: The Views of Leading Criminologists. Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/DeterrenceStudy2009.pdf
Rubin, Paul. 2002. The Death Penalty and Deterrence. EBSCO Publishing
Steele, Tracey and Wilcox Norma. 2003. A View From the Inside: The Role of
Redemption, Deterrence, and Masculinity on Inmate Support for the Death Penalty Crime & Deliquecy Vol. 49 (2).
There is a common knowledge that capital punishment would prevent people from committing crime. But until now, there has not been any actual statistics or scientific researches that prove the relationship between the capital punishment and the rate of crimes. According to Jack Weil, “criminals, who believe that their chances of going to jail are slight, will in all probability also assume that their chances of being executed are equally slight. Their attitude that crime pays will in no way be altered” (3). Most people commit a crime when they are affected by the influence of drugs, alcohol or even overwhelmed emotions, so they cannot think logically about they would pay back by their lives. Also, when criminal plan to do their crime, they prepare and expect to escape instead of being caught. Some people believe that the threat of severe punishment could bring the crime rates down and that capital punishment is the ultimate crime deterrent. However, in fact, the rate of ...
According to Radelet & Borg (2000), deterrence was, in the past, the most frequently-cited reason for arguments in support of the death penalty. The claim stems from a belief that potential criminals will be less likely to commit severe acts of violence if they know that those who carried out similar crimes before them were put to death – in much the same way that heads on pikes at the gates of a city were intended to deter criminal activity in the Middle Ages. Recently, however, many studies have concluded that the death penalty offers no significant deterrent effects, and the few which claim to find support for these effects have received substantial criticism (Radelet & Borg, 2000). The majority of both criminologists and law enforcement officers surveyed expressed that they do not believe the death penalty offers any difference in the amount of violent crimes committed (Radelet & Borg, 2000).
This paper will examine the pros and cons of the death penalty. Is it a deterrent or is that a myth. Does it give the family of the victim peace or does it cause them to suffer waiting for appeal after appeal. What are the forms of execution and any evidence of them being cruel and usual punishment. Is the death penalty fair if there are glaring, disparities in sentencing depending on geographic location and the color of the offender and victim’s skin?
Opponents of capital punishment are outspoken and vehement in their arguments. They believe the death penalty does not does not deter crime. They also hold the opinion that endin...
Proponents of capital punishment believe that killing criminals is a moral and ethical way of punishing them. They feel there is justification in taking the life of a certain criminal, when in fact that justification is nothing more than revenge. They also feel that the death penalty deters crime, although there have been no conclusive studies confirming that viewpoint (Bedau).
“The question of whether the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than long-term imprisonment has been debated for decades or longer by scholars, policy makers, and the general public” (Radelet & Lacock, 2009).
Capital punishment has as its aim not only the punishment of criminals but also the prevention of similar crimes. Unfortunately, capital punishment does not in fact deter criminal acts, as most supporters of the death penalty expect. Michael Meltsner points out that "capital punishment was justified as a deterrent to crime, yet the killing [has been] done infrequently and in privacy" (3); these factors lead to the ineffectiveness of capital punishment as a deterrent. The infrequent administration of capital punishment stems from the vast differences in each case and the legal variations among the states that permit capital punishment. Currently, t...
The capital punishment has been cited as a reasonable sentence by those who advocate for retribution. This is essentially when it comes to justice so that people take full responsibility for their individual actions. Studies have proved that the decision to take away life of a person because they committed a certain crime serves to perpetuate the crime in question. It also serves to enhance the progress of organized and violent crime. It has been noted that various flaws in the justice system has led to the wrong conviction of innocent people. On the other hand, the guilty have also been set free, and a plethora of several cases has come up when a critical look at the capital punishment has been undertaken. Killers hardly kill their victims deliberately, but they probably act on anger, passion, or impulsively. In this regard, it is not proper to convict them exclusively without
Radelet, Michael L., and Marian J. Borg. "The Changing Nature Of Death Penalty Debates." Annual Review Of Sociology 26.1 (2000): 43. Business Source Complete. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
A review of the available evidence recently led a National Research Council committee to conclude—again—that we still do not know whether the legal status or use of capital punishment has any influence on homicide (Siennick, 2012). Research methods have shown that a short-term deterrent effect holds true only for non-felony homicides. Felony homicides actually increase slightly after an execution (Siennick, 2012). According to research done in Texas, felony homicides are the only type of homicides that are eligible for the Death Penalty. This does pose a problem for determining whether or not the Death Penalty is an effective deterrent or not. Land et al. suggests that their findings point to subtypes of potential murderers who might respond differently to the threat of execution (Sien...
One of the most repetitive and controversial topics discussed in the criminal justice system, is the death penalty. Capital punishment has been a part of our nation’s history since the creation of our constitution. In fact, as of January 1st, 2016, 2,943 inmates were awaiting their fate on death row (Death Penalty Information Center). Throughout my life, I have always been a strong advocate for the death penalty. During the majority of my undergraduate degree, I was a fierce supporter of capital punishment when discussing the topic in classes. However, throughout many criminal justice courses, I found myself in the minority, regarding the abolishment of the death penalty. While debating this topic, I would always find myself sympathetic to the victims and their families, as one should be, wanting those who were responsible for heinous crimes to
Capital punishment, a topic that is constantly debated, is questioned on whether or not it serves its purpose which is to deter criminals and if it is morally acceptable. It is my goal to evaluate arguments that promote or reject capital punishment and its deterrence factor. It would be beneficial comparing crime statistics for states that uphold and states that abolish capital punishment. Finally, an investigation of criminals facing the death penalty and their thoughts as well as modern prison conditions will provide insight to this debate. Capital punishment could be a great deterrent to crime or it may have no effect at all.
Capital punishment, or otherwise known as the death penalty, is death sentenced upon a person by the state as a punishment for a crime. These crimes are known as capital crimes or capital offenses. Capital punishment has been practiced in many societies; now 58 nations practice the death penalty, while 97 nations have abolished it. In the past, it was common for the ruling party to make the offender known throughout the community for his or her criminal act. Thus, if the community were made aware of the consequences for breaking the laws, the crime rate would reduce. Such criminal penalties included: boiling to death, disembowelment, crucifixion and many more. As time went on the movement towards more humane treatments took hold. In the US, the electric chair and gas chambers were introduced but have been almost entirely superseded by lethal injection. Nevertheless, capital punishment has been a part of human history and will always continue to be a controversy and a debate. (Bedau)
The death penalty greatly discourages citizens from committing crimes like murder. The greatest fear for many people is death. If they know that execution is a common consequence for their actions, they are going to think twice before committing them. Even in jails, the fear of death can deter an inmate already serving a life sentence from killing a guard or another inmate. When a potential murderer realizes that a murderer’s punishment is execution, then that person is discouraged from going through with the murder. The first studies were conducted in 1973 by Isaac Ehrlich linking executions to a lowered murder rate, and for every murderer executed a potential of three people were saved from murder (insert citation). A more modern...
Lester PH. D., David. "Are Murderers Likely to Murder Again?" The Death Penalty. 2nd ed. Il: Charles C. Thomas. 1988. 118.