[Vision2020] Study says Death Penalty IS a Deterent

[Paul Rumelhart]

Donovan,

I agree that science should not be ignored for political expedience.  I 
do have a problem with this study, though.  How do you measure how many 
murders wouldn't have happened in a given time frame?  Apparently, they 
look at murder rates in places that have the death penalty vs those that 
don't, and try to account for every other factor that might affect the 
data.  Since there are so few inmates killed in this country each year, 
I would think it would be too hard to measure their effect.  We're 
talking looking at 16,000+ murders vs 60 executions.  Just like the 
critics that were quoted in the article said, they didn't even try to 
examine crimes that bring the death penalty vs. those that don't.  It's 
a noble attempt and an interesting idea, but it's not scientific proof.

For instance, what about the opposite of deterrence?  If someone has 
just committed a crime that brings the death penalty, doesn't this take 
away the last restraint put upon that person by society?  If you're 
going to fry for killing one person anyway, why not kill ten or twenty?  
However, you might get out of jail someday if you only kill one person 
and there is no death penalty.  Not so much after killing ten or twenty.

Paul

Donovan Arnold wrote:
> Andreas,
>  
> You can try to discredit the results of legitimate scientific 
> research but it doesn't make the results any less true. The 
> lead researcher was against the death penalty. I am against the death 
> penalty in almost every case. But it would be wrong to ignore 
> the scientific data that killing people for murder acts as a deterrent 
> for some not to commit murder.
>  
> Just because the death penalty deters potential murderers from 
> killing, doesn't mean that it is always the right or moral thing to 
> do. If killing an innocent person for a murder they didn't commit 
> reduced future murders that would not justify the action either.
>  
> I think you are incorrect to discredit all who are not in the criminal 
> justice field from having valid input into the impacts of the death 
> penalty. Economics studies social behavior and makes empirical 
> observations about social behavior. The death penalty is very much a 
> social issue.  
>  
> What we should not do, I think ever, is ignore the truth of scientific 
> research for political expedience, or because it doesn't fit nicely 
> into what we wish, want to believe, or goes against the social changes 
> we would like to make. If you have data that refutes these findings, 
> please site them.
>  
> Best,
>  
> Donovan
>  
>  
>
>
> */Andreas Schou <ophite at gmail.com>/* wrote:
>
>
>
>     On 6/10/07, *Donovan Arnold* <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com
>     <mailto:donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>
>         How about that? According to scientific research the death
>         penalty saves 3-18 lives per execution.
>
>
>     In a series of studies conducted and published by economics
>     professors. A general knowledge of statistics does not an expert
>     on criminal justice make. This seems virtually identical to the
>     conservative physicists, chemists, and economists that suddenly
>     becom experts on climatology when questioned about global warming.
>
>     -- ACS
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers 
> <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48254/*http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/_ylc=X3oDMTI5MGx2aThyBF9TAzIxMTU1MDAzNTIEX3MDMzk2NTQ1MTAzBHNlYwNCQUJwaWxsYXJfTklfMzYwBHNsawNQcm9kdWN0X3F1ZXN0aW9uX3BhZ2U-?link=list&sid=396545469>from 
> someone who knows.
> Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet, 
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
>                http://www.fsr.net                       
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================