The Death Penalty and Deterrence
A September 2000 New York Times survey found that during the last 20 years, the homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 48 to 101 percent higher than in states without the death penalty.
FBI data shows that 10 of the 12 states without capital punishment in 2007 had homicide rates below the national average.
The murder rate in non-Death Penalty states has remained consistently lower than the rate in States with the Death Penalty.
The threat of execution at some future date is unlikely to enter the minds of those acting under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, those who are in the grip of fear or rage, those who are panicking while committing another crime (such as a robbery), or those who suffer from mental illness or mental retardation and do not fully understand the gravity of their crime.
