Capital Punishment

550 Words2 Pages

From the articles reviewed, there is no clear answer to the subject matter. Whereas most authors argue that capital punishment deters homicide, some scholars have also proven that this is just a mere coincidence. Since both sides, including the proponents of capital punishment and those that disagree with it, have justified their claims with statistics and proven evidence, further research needs to be carried out to know whether or not the sentence deters homicide.
Adler and Summers (2007) argue that an increase in the number of death penalties leads to a corresponding decrease in the number of murder cases. In their article, they draw arguments from data retrieved from the FBI, which clearly illustrates the correlation between executions and resultant murder trends from 1979 to 2004. Their scientific analysis unmistakably reveals that each capital punishment is equivalent to a reduction of 71 murders in the same year. This analysis suggests that capital punishment is of great value to the society since it significantly reduces homicide cases. Different scholars have written various articles that support this perspective.
For instance, Mocan and Gittings (2003) take time to investigate this theory by including the effects of commutation, prison deaths, and acquittals on the rate of crime. In addition to Adler and Summers’ (2007) findings, they assert that both commutation and acquittal of prisoners lead to additional cases of homicide in the United States. Consequently, capital punishment is regarded as a necessary procedure for saving the lives of innocent citizens. However, many people, including United States former president, George Bush, caution that capital punishment should not be used as a way of seeking revenge. Instea...

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Works Cited

Adler, R. D., & Summers, M. (2007). Capital punishment works. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB119397079767680173
Mocan, N. H., & Gittings, R. K. (2003). Getting off death row: Commuted sentences and the deterrent effect of capital punishment. Journal of Law and Economics, 46(2), 453-478.
Radelet, M. L. (2009). Do executions lower homicide rates: The views of leading criminologists? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 99(2), 489-508.
Sarokin, H. L. (2011). Is it time to execute the death penalty? Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/is-it-time-to-execute- the_b_809553.html
Van den Haag, E. (1983). For the death penalty. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/nyregion/e-van-den-haag-87-educator-and-backer -of-death-penalty.html

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