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The death penalty is not now nor has it ever been a deterrent with respect to the commission of capital offenses. It has been manipulated by the media and society as the ultimate punishment, despite the statistical evidence to the contrary. The statistical evidence shows that the murder rate has continued to decrease as the number of states adopting laws that prohibit the death penalty have increased. In fact, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, states that allow the death penalty have always had higher murder rates than those states which do not. In 2007 alone, the murder rate was 42% higher in death penalty states than it was in non-death penalty states. This statistic alone highlights the inefficacy of the death penalty as a deterrent to capitol crimes.

The deterrent effect of capitol punishment has been questioned or dismissed by Supreme Court justices, the U.S. Attorney General, legal scholars, and legal and sociological educators alike. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the NAACP have assailed the deterrent effect as non-existent and as an invalid justification for a barbaric practice that is unconstitutional.

Worldwide, 92 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. This again, points to the total lack of efficacy as a deterrent to capitol crimes. In those nations where capitol punishment is still allowed or embraced, it is used more as a tool for eradicating political dissent and for exerting social control than it is for punishing capitol offenses. Currently, the United Nations has in place a moratorium on death penalty executions. Resolution 62/149 passed and was adopted by an overwhelming majority of 104 member nations. Of the 54 nations that voted against it, most noteworthy are China and the United States. Despite the fact that the U.S. carried out 111 executions in 2008, there is increasing evidence the U.S. is slowly turning away from the death penalty, as death penalty sentences have continued to decrease since their peak in the mid 1990's.

The reasons that the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent are varied in scope and nature. Since murder is the most common reason that the sentence is sought, you have to look at how and why most murders occur. A large percentage of fatal assaults occur when the perpetrator is in a state of altered consciousness. That is to say they're under the influence of either alcohol or some type of drug. People who are drunk or high are not typically rational and are not considering the consequences of their actions. The reticence of juries to hand down the sentence may be another contributing factor. Regardless of what reason you choose, the reality is that the death penalty does not have a deterrent effect, and should be abandoned as a rationalization for the practice.

Learn more about this author, Victor Mikulin.
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