2007-10-17 06:27:55 · 8 answers · asked by Angela 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Actually I don't think that should be the purpose of the death penalty or be considered in the equation...the death penalty is society's way of providing justice for those victims of violent crimes whose rights should be vindicated...whether it deters or not is entirely secondary...although we know it deters THAT criminal from committing the crime again.
2007-10-17 06:33:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
No. As the first answerer wrote, rates of violent crime are higher in states and regions with the death penalty than in those without it.
Most serious criminals do not think about consequences. They don't even think they will be caught (if they think at all.)
To deter others a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. More than 50 of the 124 people on death row who were proved to be wrongfully convicted had already served over a decade. Speeding up the process will guarantee we execute innocent people.
We have an alternative. Life without parole is on the books in 48 states. It means what it says and it costs much less than the death penalty (because the legal process in death penalty cases is more complicated and takes longer). Life without parole is sure and begins immediately.
2007-10-17 06:55:54 · answer #2 · answered by Susan S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the average criminal thought he was going to be caught, most would not commit a crime in the first place. Seeing they do expect they will be caught, there is no deterrent.
Even with a death penalty, few crimes would be eligible to be considered. The most common of these would be murder. Most murders are committed as crimes of passion, so you are not even thinking of consequences at that time, so there would be no deterrent.
2007-10-17 06:36:41 · answer #3 · answered by trooper3316 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Statistics have shown that having a death penalty for some crimes doesn't even deter those crimes.
I cannot even imagine how having a death penalty would act as a deterrent for a crime where a capital sentence wasn't even possible.
2007-10-17 06:35:31 · answer #4 · answered by coragryph 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋
I doubt the death penalty slows many people down in America but I think if it was used more liberally it would. People don't fear it much because it is seldom imposed. We need to use it more because many criminals no longer fear the prisons. They are dorms with none of the work. When many criminals go to prison now it is more like a family reunion then punishment.
2007-10-17 06:39:38 · answer #5 · answered by Bob J 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it actually does not. The states with the lowest crime rates are the states without the death penalty. See http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/FactSheet.pdf
2007-10-17 06:31:15 · answer #6 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Not the way it is handled now days. Bring back public executions and yes, it will deter.
2007-10-17 06:34:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Yes, to the extent that the executed will not ever harm another living thing.
2007-10-17 06:40:59 · answer #8 · answered by quincy's mom 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋