Death Sentence is not Deterrence to Crime - Term Paper Example

Death Sentence is not Deterrence to Crime Introduction Capital punishment has been in force in the country for an extended period. The death penalty is handed for capital crimes such as homicide. The rate of executions has declined in the recent past with many states opting for life imprisonment. However, a majority of states have maintained the death penalty. Currently, more than 32 states have the death penalty. The death penalty is restrained by the Eight Amendment of the Constitution that prohibits unusual punishment. Thus, it is applied for extreme felonies. The death penalty has raised controversies among scholars and legal experts. The arguments are based on the ability of the death penalty to deter crime. Analysts consider the impact of imposing death penalties on the criminal trends in a particular state that applies the death penalty. Scholars and legal experts consider the deterrence effect based on homicide rates. However, other interested parties, such as human rights groups, argue that the death penalty is inconsistent with the virtue of the sanctity of human life (Stearman 13). Problem Statement As noted above, the death penalty is imposed for capital crimes such as murder. Offenders are handed this penalty as a means to punish them and secure the safety of the community. Proponents of the penalty claim that it deters criminals from committing capital crimes. However, there is little evidence to show that the death penalty deters crime. Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that there is little difference in death row inmates over the years in states that have the death penalty. In this regard, it becomes controversial and hard to make a clear determination of the impact of death penalty on crime (Mandery 32). The study seeks to determine the effect of the death penalty on crime levels using statistics and theory. Literature Review Background Information The Death penalty was a popular punishment for many crimes in Europe before the 19th century. Criminals were executed for ordinary crimes such as theft, rape, treason and murder (Banner, 5). The English colonialist’s brought the tradition to America. People who flouted the British laws were sentenced according to their laws. As such, death penalty spread to all states under English control. In that era, people had little say regarding governance and punishment. As such, the fate of persons sentenced to death lay with government officials. The debate on which crimes merit the death sentence raged in the 19th century. People thought that the death sentence was misused for lesser crimes. Instead, the death sentence should be used for graver offences. There was no consensus on which criteria to use when determine what crimes merited a death sentence. Crimes such as Treason were much grave than murder in 18th and early 19th century. The debates on the importance and constitutionality of the death penalty led to abolitions of the penalty in many states across the country. In fact, the states that have the death penalty rarely execute inmates on the death row (National Research Council 17). Some death row inmates have served more than 50 years in jail. Death Penalty in the United States There have been 1234 executions in the United States from 1976 to 2010 (National Research Council 15). The main offences that warrant this penalty is murder. Offenders are executed using state penal codes. Executions are normally conducted in correctional facilities. Lethal injections and electrocution are the most common methods of executions. Proponents of the penalty assert that capital offenders, such as murder, pose an imminent danger to the society. As such, the government is obligated to fulfil its mandate of protecting the population. The most effective way is to execute these offenders. The primary objective of execution was to show the public the consequences of committing certain crimes. Up to the mid-20th century, most of the executions were performed outdoors in from of large crowds. The intuition of this was to scare people against committing capital crimes. As such, it would deter them from such crimes. Proponents argue death penalty offers two forms of deterrence; specific and general. The specific deterrence ensures that the offender does not live to offend again. The general deterrence is based on the impact of such penalties on potential offenders (Mandery 31). Marzilli asserts that the penalty fails to accomplish its primary objectives (29). He cites data related to executions and murder rates in death sentence states. The data shows that crimes actually increase after executions. In addition, there is no clear difference in crime between states that have the death penalty in their penal code and those without the code. The Death penalty may scare individuals from committing the actual act, but does not show any reduction in intent to commit such crimes. The Death penalty also devalues human life. The society is sensitive to the actions of their governments. Continuous executions make the public devalue life and thus are likely to kill. The brutalization theory best explain the situation where people may continue committing crimes such as murder since the government sets the precedent. To prove these arguments, psychologists compare the rate of capital crime in states that have the death penalty and those that do not. It is surprising to note that states without the death sentence have lower rates of capital crimes that states that have the death penalty (Marzilli, 30). Mandery asserts that the government may send wrong signals in the application of the death penalty (32). The public expects civil and humane behavior from the government. It is thus unfortunate to find the government leading in a manner that condones violence. The Death penalty is harsh to the individual offenders. A New offender may not have the penalty in mind when committing a crime. As such, they are always new offenders. Methodology The study uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to fulfilling its objectives. The study uses data from the Department of Justice on the death penalties from 1976. The data collected pertains to the number of convictions as well as the actual executions. The data will provide a breakthrough on the impact of the death penalty on crime levels. To complete the comparison, data showing the capital crime levels in states that have the death penalty and the states that do not have the penalty will be compared. Data on the death penalty will be extracted from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Death Penalty Information Center. Theoretical perspectives of scholars on the issue will also be analyzed. The works will provide empirical information on the role that death penalty plays in the society. The sources were chosen based on the depth of the analysis and clear point of view regarding the role of the death penalty. The study will focus on the justification raised by various scholars to approve or disapprove the deterrence concept. The study will use percentages to compared the data and make appropriate conclusions. Data will be presented in tabular and graphical format. The objective will be to present the data in a manner that shows the trend at a glance. Model States that argue in favor of death sentence argue that the penalty deters crime by raising the cost for offenders. In this regard, the costs of the death penalty is determines whether a crime is committed or not. Thus, the number of executions (Xc) is one of the independent variables that affect the rate of homicides per 10000 people (Yn) a death penalty states. There are also other variables (Xe) that are unique to each state and affect the model. Thus, the overall model becomes; Yn=α + βXc+ µXe+ c Assumption The main assumption of the model is that executions is the main variable that has a significant effect on the dependent variable. Rationale for Selecting the Model The model provides a breakthrough on how death penalty may or may not influence homicide. Criminal consider the costs of committing crime and evaluate the consequences. In addition, the effectiveness of the penalty is influenced by external factors that are unique to each state and affect the overall homicide levels. Results and analysis Results The graph shows that number of executions since 1976. The executions followed a moratorium by the Supreme Court to stop executions. Executions surged after 1976. Table 1: Executions and murder rates in United States since 1976 Year Murder rate per 100000 people Number of Executions 1991 9.94 14 1992 9.51 31 1993 9.69 38 1994 9.23 31 1995 8.59 56 1996 7.72 45 1997 7.09 74 1998 6.51 68 1999 5.86 98 2000 5.7 85 2001 5.82 66 2002 5.82 71 2003 5.91 65 2004 5.71 59 2005 5.87 60 2006 5.9 53 2007 5.83 42 2008 5.72 37 2009 5.26 52 2010 5 46 Sourced from death Penalty Information Center and Bureau of Justice Statistics Table 2: Crime in death and non-death penalty states in United States Sourced from Bureau of Justice Statistics The data above shows the murder rate in states that have the death penalty and the states that do not have the death penalty. It shows the percentage differences in the capital crime level in the states. The percentage difference lies between 7% and 46%. From the data, states that do not have the death penalty have a lower murder rate. The lowest difference was in 1991, where non-death penalty states recorded murder crimes at 9.27 per 100000 people. Murder crimes in death penalty states stood at 9.94 per 100000. The highest difference was in 2005 with 46%. Death penalty states experience murder crimes at the rate of 5.87 per 100000, and 4.03 per 100000 in non-death penalty states. Regression Output The rate of murder in death penalty states was regressed against the number of executions in the country. The following graph summarizes the data in the table above from 1990. Analysis Interpretation of regression output From the table, the constant is 9.49 and the coefficient of the executions (Xc) is -0.049. Thus, the model becomes; Yn= 9.49-0.049Xc+C The data was regressed at 5% significance level. At 5% significance level, Xc has a t-value of -3.13 and P>|t| = 0.006. A p-value of 0.06 implies that the variable Xc is significant to the model. However, a t-statistic that is less than 1.96 indicates that the independent variable is a not a significant predictor of the dependent variable within the sample. As such, the number of executions (Xc), does not have a significant effect on the number of murders committed in the states. Although the coefficient shows a negative relationship between the number of murder and executions, the insignificance of the relationship overrides such conclusions. A constant of 9.49 is large compared to a coefficient of -0.049. This implies that if the results were anything to go by, it would require a lot of executions to cover for one digit drop in the rate of murder. The large constant further erodes the significance of executions in deterring murder. A positive constant implies that rate of murder is affected by other variables that are not in the model. The significance of the whole model is of interest to the study. The significance is determined by the relationship between the f-calculated and F-critical. From the ANOVA table, the value of F calculated is 2.69 whereas the value of F-critical is 9.79. Therefore, it can be concluded that the overall model is not statistically significant since F- calculated is less than F-critical (2.69 Read More