Justifications for Capital Punishment (Parts II and III)

Deterrence and Incapacitation

Deterrence There are at least two meanings:

1) Special (or specific) Deterrence aimed at creating fear in the offender by punishment so that he or she will not commit another crime

2) General Deterrence aimed at creating fear in all members of society by sending a message through punishment of an offender so that we will not commit crimes

First, it is obvious that the death penalty is NOT A SPECIFIC DETERRENT -- Why?

If the offender is DEAD, he or she cannot be afraid of committing another crime

So the only issue is whether the death penalty is a GENERAL DETERRENT

That is, does it cause fear in US that stops US from committing murder?

The Logic of Deterrence

Gosh, it makes sense at least! …here’s an example

How do you stop a dog from peeing on the floor?

The Logic of Deterrence

Why do we punish a dog for peeing on the floor?

To make it not do it again (PREVENTION) We assume dogs learn through punishment … As do cats, other animals, and PEOPLE! …

The Logic of Deterrence When it comes to humans, we assume:

People are hedonistic (pleasure-seeking) People are rational (can think in advance of behavior) People want to avoid pain such as punishment

(deterrence) So the thought of death should deter … and seeing

punishment administered to others should deter

The Logic of Deterrence BUT … Just because deterrence is logical, does this mean that

the DEATH PENALTY IS ACTUALLY A DETERRENT ???

(What does the evidence say?)

Hint: it is not good …

Quotes from Supporters ... “… we must conclude that we lack strong statistical

evidence that capital punishment deters … There is no such evidence for nondeterrence either. The statistics available are simply inconclusive ...” (Pojman, 1998)

“Statistics have not proved conclusively that the death penalty does or does not deter murder more than other penalties” (Van den Haag, 1997)

Meanwhile, virtually all experts agree that the death Meanwhile, virtually all experts agree that the death penalty penalty DOES NOT DETERDOES NOT DETER would-be MURDERERS would-be MURDERERS

Does it Matter to People?(Deterrence and Public Support)

Historically, deterrence has been a major reason cited in public opinion polls as to why people favor capital punishment

(e.g., to stop others from committing murder) But recently, it is not widely cited by supporters Perhaps people know the evidence? … (That the death penalty is NOT considered a deterrent

to murder according to the scientific evidence)

Key facts to remember up front …

About 1 / 2% of aggravated murderers (death eligible killers) get the death penalty

How could it be a deterrent when it is not used? (Evidence about deterrence suggests that most

important element is CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT – for punishment to deter, it must be likely to happen)

Summary of Evidence Studies tend to compare: States with death penalty and without … Nations with death penalty and without … Jurisdictions before and after having death penalty … Effects of highly publicized executions … ETC! …

What would you expect to find in these studies?

Summary of Evidence States WITH death penalty have HIGHER murder

rates than those without … Nations WITH death penalty have HIGHER murder

rates than those without … Effects of imposing and removing death penalty have

OPPOSITE effect expected …

NO CONSISTENT EVIDENCE of DETERRENCE and MORE EVIDENCE OF “BRUTALIZATION”

States Murder rates 48-101% LOWER in states WITHOUT

the death penalty South has HIGHEST murder rate and MOST

executions: 2002: South: 6.8 per 100,000 (68 executions in 2002) West: 5.7 per 100,000 (1 execution in 2002) Midwest: 5.1 per 100,000 (2 executions in 2002) Northeast: 4.1 per 100,000 (0 executions in 2002)

States Average murder rate in 1999 of DEATH PENALTY

STATES was 5.5 per 100,000 Average murder rate in 1999 of NON-DEATH

PENALTY STATES was 3.6 per 100,000

States Gaps in murder rates grew between 1990 (4%) and 2002 (36%)

Nations Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976 2001 homicides (554) were 23% lower than 1975

homicides (721) Homicide rates in Canada about 3 times lower than in

US US: 5.7 per 100,000 (1999) (98 executions in 1999) Canada: 1.8 per 100,000 (1999) (0 executions in 1999)

Nations US murder

rate also 3 times higher than Europe

They have death penalty … we do not

Summary of Evidence No studies considered valid today show evidence of

deterrence The largest, most sophisticated study which found

evidence of deterrence (Ehrlich, 1975) concluded for each execution, 7-8 murders would be prevented

This study was replicated numerous times and found NO EFFECT

Study is plagued by numerous flaws so that National Academy of Sciences report did not accept his findings

But supporters say ... Consider the BEST BET HYPOTHESIS … If we do not know if the death penalty is a deterrent,

we should bet that it is … it would be better to assume there is a deterrent

(when there is not) and use death penalty -- this unnecessarily kills guilty murderers

… than to assume there is not a deterrent (when there is) and not use the death penalty -- this allows innocent people to die …

So supporters say ... Consider the ANECDOAL EVIDENCE ...

Stories do exist of those who claim to have been deterred by fear of capital punishment …

Experts’ Views Survey of Presidents of ASC, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences,

and Law and Society Association found: 84% say death penalty is NOT deterrent to homicide 0% say the death penalty significantly reduces homicide 93% say threat of death penalty is NOT greater deterrent to murder

than long prison terms 87% say abolishing the death penalty in a state would have no

significant effects of murder in that state 100% say politicians support death penalty to appear tough on

crime 87% say debates about death penalty distract law makers from

focusing on real solutions to crime problems

So what about Incapacitation?

Incapacitation is “taking away one’s ability to commit another crime so that it is impossible to commit more crimes”

While typical forms include probation, incarceration, the ultimate form is death!

Anyone want to argue that death penalty does not achieve this?

Does capital punishment achieve incapacitation?

Yes, for 2% of aggravated murderers! Remember Supreme Court said we cannot kill them

all, prosecutors do not pursue it, juries will not impose it ...

So, a handful of them are killed (31 per year since 1977)

And it costs more to kill them (the way U.S does it) than to keep them in prison for life

So, is it necessary or is there an alternative?

Question

Can either incapacitation or deterrence justify the death penalty?

(6AE)