The Death Penalty is NOT a Deterrent

¨ Beccaria, (1764) whose work forms the fundamental basis of deterrence theory today, stated that the "death penalty cannot be useful because of the example of barbarity it gives men." [i] Beccaria was a strong supporter of punishment and accountability for offenders, making his concerns about the lack of utility in capital punishment notable

¨ Comparison of homicide rates in contiguous states, 1920-1963, indicated no difference

¨ Death penalty states and non-death penalty states had similar homicide rates. (e.g., Michigan (non-DP state) same as Indiana and Ohio (DP): 3.5/100,000; North Dakota (non-DP) 1.0 versus Nebraska (1.8) and South Dakota (1.5), both DP states [ii]

¨ Capital murder of police officer: Study of 82 cities in non Death Penalty states and 182 cities in Death Penalty states: non-DP rate 1.2 murders/10 years/death penalty rate 1.3 murders/10 years [iii]

¨ Death Penalty and murders within prison: 85% of inmates killed in prison and all of the staff members killed in prison were in death penalty states. [iv] Another study found that 91% of staff members and 95% of inmates killed in prison were killed in death penalty states. [v]

¨ Studies of states before and after abolition or re-instatement of the death penalty show no apparent deterrent effect for capital punishment. [vi]

¨ Cross-national study examining homicide rate changes one year, five years and maximum possible years before and after abolition of death penalty for selected countries (Austria, Canada, Denmark, England and Wales, Finland, Israel, Italy, Netherland Antilles, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland) indicates more decreases than increases following abolition. [vii]

¨ Research suggests a brutalization effect of highly publicized executions. One study found that argument-related stranger homicides increased following the highly publicized reinstatement of the death penalty in Oklahoma. [viii] This research was refined and replicated, with the same results. [ix] Another study, in New York state, indicated that each execution "adds roughly three more to the number of homicides in the next nine months of the year after the execution." [x]

¨ Research by economist Isaac Ehrlich that indicated a deterrence effect has been sharply criticized due failure to control for regional differences, and it only held true for the years 1965-1969, during which there was intense civil discord in the country. [xi]

¨ Executions have been banned from public view to reduce violent reactions. [xii]

Individuals who commit homicide:

Usually did not intend to kill someone

Do not rationally calculate the consequences before acting

Copyright  2001, Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. All rights reserved.

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[i] Cesare Beccaria (1975), On Crimes and Punishment, translated with an introduction by Harry Paolucci, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.

[ii] Thorsten Sellin (1967), Capital Punishment, New York: Harper & Row.

[iii] Sellin, op cit., 1967, pp. 138-154; Thorsten Sellin (1959), The Death Penalty, Philadelphia: The American Law Institute.

[iv] Sellin, (1967), op. cit, pp. 154-160.

[v] Wendy Wolfson

B Raymond T. Bye(1919), Capital Punishment in the United States. Philadelphia: The Committee of Philanthropic Labor of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends; Karl F. Schuessler ((1952), "The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty," Annals 284:54-62; Walter C. Reckless (1959), "The Death Penalty," Crime and Delinquency 15:43-56; John K. Cochran, Mitch B. Chamlin, and Mark Seth, (1994), "Deterrence or Brutalization? An Impact Assessment of Oklahoma's Return to Capital Punishment," Criminology 32:107-134.

[vii] Dane Archer, Rosemary Gartner and Marc Beittel (1983), "Homicide and the Death Penalty: A Cross-National Test of a Deterrence Hypothesis." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 74:991-1013.

[viii] Cochran et al., (1994), op cit.

[ix] William C. Bailey (1998), "Deterrence, Brutalization and the Death Penalty: Another Examination of Oklahoma's Return to Capital Punishment." Criminology 36:711-733.

[x] William J. Bowers and Glenn L. Pierce, (1980), "Deterrence or Brutalization: What is the Effect of Executions?" Crime and Delinquency 26:481.

[xi] Isaac Ehrlich, (1975), "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Matter of Life and Death." American Economic Review 65:397-417. For a summary of critiques of this research, see Bohm, pp. cit., pp. 88-91.

[xii] William J. Bowers, (1988), "The Effect of Executions is Brutalization, Not Deterrence," pp. 49-89 in K. C. Haas and J. A. Inciardi (eds.), Challenging Capital Punishment: Legal and Social Science Approaches. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.