Criminology
Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates?
In the article Do executions lower homicide rates?: The views of leading criminologists (Radelet & Lacock 2009) look at the issue of whether there is a deterrence effect with the death penalty. Over the years there has been extensive agreement among criminologists that the death penalty could not be warranted on deterrence grounds. In 1996 a study was conducted by Radelet & Lacock that surveyed sixty-seven leading American criminologists regarding their opinion about the empirical research on deterrence and found that the vast majority of the experts agreed that the death penalty never has been and never will be superior to long-term prison sentences as a deterrent to criminal violence. The research in this article was designed to update the 1996 study and evaluate if any recent deterrence studies have modified the beliefs of the world's leading criminologists.
Question
The question being looked at is whether the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than long-term imprisonment. This issue has been debated for decades or longer by scholars, policy makers, and the general public. There is one side that is for the death penalty that wants to argue that the punishment of death works to deter future crime from happening. The other side argues that the punishment of long-term imprisonment is just as effective as the death penalty in preventing future crimes. The
Leading Criminologists do not feel that the death penalty deters crime any more than long-term imprisonment does.
Understanding of Conclusions Drawn by the Author
The authors state that in 2007 Professor Mocan, a leading economist told writers for both the Associated Press and the New York Times that he thought that the death penalty had a deterrent effect. The data that is this article does not support that position. To the contrary, the data show that the scientific community, in particular social scientists, would likely take a position conflicting that of Professor Mocan. The current survey indicates that the vast majority of the world's top criminologists believe that the empirical research has exposed that the deterrence hypothesis is a myth. Current econometric studies, which hypothesize that the death penalty has a trivial deterrent effect beyond that of long-term imprisonment, are so partial or defective that they have failed to challenge consensus. In short, the agreement among criminologists is that the death penalty does not add any significant deterrent effect above that of long-term imprisonment.
Authors Success
The authors set out to update the study that they did back in…
Homicide in America The imagination of death in a violent manner causes both fear and fascination in most people, and this is the reason why both homicide and suicide are the subjects of voluminous commentary. At the same time, most of this commentary is not facts, but a lot of emotions, and the backing is through a lot of items mentioned as facts. These facts have been repeated so often that
Research reveals that those who kill white victims are much more likely to receive the death penalty than those who kill black victims. One study found that for similar crimes committed by similar defendants, blacks received the death penalty at a 38% higher rate than all others (Dieter, 1998). It is significant to note that the death penalty is more likely to be imposed on men than woman. Death sentences
Criminal Justice: The Death Penalty Reasons for topic selection Causes of racial prejudice and discrimination Juvenile in delinquent society theory Culture and values Official and unofficial values The effectiveness of the death penalty The death penalty is irreversible The death penalty is barbaric Changes to the death sentence Implemented changes Sentencing guidelines Bifurcated trials Automatic appellate conviction review Proportionality review The importance of proposed changes Anticipated outcome Life imprisonment; alternative to death sentences The costs Decency standards Overall efficiency Policies in support of incarceration Conclusion References Background Despite the controversy over how effective it is
United States has the highest rate of confinement of prisoners per 100,000 population than any other Western country. Analyze this phenomena and discuss actions that you feel are necessary to combat this problem. The United States currently has the highest incarceration rate of any nation worldwide. For example, greater than 60% of nations have incarceration rates below 150 per 100,000 people (Walmsley, 2003). The United States makes up just about
As such, it is unlikely to change in light of knowledge or information about the death penalty and its administration" (Vollum & Buffington-Vollum, p. 30). Furthermore, "those who scored higher on value-expressive attitudes were less accepting of information critical of the death penalty and, in turn, less likely to change their views in light of the information presented." Thus, the widespread support of the death penalty in the face
It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now