Why does prison time and/or the death penalty not deter crime?

Question

prison time
death penalty
detering crime

Answer 1

Ah! SO glad you asked!

don't worry, folks, I've got this one...

That, my dear, is because people are STUPID!

Answer 2

I supported capital punishment for a long time, but the more I learned about it, the more I came to oppose it. In the end, several factors changed my mind: 1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. In the last 30 years in the U.S., over 100 people have been released from death row because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. These are ALL people who were found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person. Really, that should be reason enough for most people to oppose it. If you need more, read on: 2. Because of higher pre-trial expenses, longer trials, jury sequestration, extra expenses associated with prosecuting a DP case, and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life. 3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty jurisdictions. This may seem counterintuitive, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murder…by killing people. The government fosters a culture of violence by saying, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ 4. There’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.” Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (the architect of the 9/11 attacks) would love nothing better than to be put to death. In his words, "I have been looking to be a martyr [for a] long time." 5. Most governments are supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus praises mercy (Matthew 5:7) and rejects “an eye for an eye” (Matthew 5:38-39). James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Answer 3

Prison time might deter crime if it where really a punishent. Some of our prisons are jokes. (not all) The death penalty would be more effective if people wher not aloud to set on death row for 20 years.

Answer 4

How do we really know that prison time and the death penalty do not deter crime? We never interview anyone who DIDN'T commit a crime! ("Well, Mr. Smith, your girlfriend cheated on you multiple times. Why didn't you kill her? Afraid of getting the needle?").

It would seem that tougher punishments DO deter crime overall. Over the last twenty years or so, sentences have become tougher, and crime rates have been going down.

But I know what you mean. A lot of crimes are committed in the heat of passion, or in the depths of desperation, when someone isn't thinking clearly, and so is not debating with him- or herself the crime vs the possible punishment. For a lot of others, crime is a career choice.

Answer 5

At the moment of commiting a crime, there are things going on chemically in your brain that prevent you from stopping your impulse. That impulse can last less than a second, and all the time before that moment and all the time after that moment, you can know that what you did/will do is wrong. That moment is not deterred by thoughts of the death penalty or jail time.

Answer 6

It does deter crime. Have you ever heard of an executed murderer murdering anyone else ? Have you ever heard of someone sitting in prison mugging anyone on the street or robbing a house? You have to put the idea of deterrence in perspective. Prison is a real deterrent to those in it. Death row is a certain deterrent to those waiting there turn. If you expect to deter an angry husband from killing his wife I'm sorry but rage rarely gives time for clear thought.

Answer 7

Many times, when the person is committing the crime, they are not thinking rationally. In crimes of passion, the assailant is not thinking about the penalty when committing the crime.

Others may think they can get away with the crime. Or perhaps they think the reward outweighs the risk of getting caught.

Answer 8

To act as a deterrent (keep others from committing the same crime) a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither.

More than one of the people who answered your question are misinformed about what deterrence means. They are confusing it with incapacitation, which means to prevent a criminal from reoffending.

Answer 9

Because nobody thinks they will get caught when they are committing a crime. Also, for some(gangs) being in prsion is a status thing. Lastly, some people have been in prison for so long, it is just a way of life and what they are used to so going back doesn't matter.

Answer 10

There not enforced and prision life for some is better than life on the street>Death penalty they right a book>20 yrs still there>Might even get out>>

Answer 11

Prison is a joke. Prison should be the worst place on earth. Prisoners can get any kind of drugs they want and are pretty much running the prisons. It's hard to be a deterrent when criminals have it better in prison then in life out of prison. Prison should be a place that when you get out you wont spit in the street for fear of going back.