Dudley Sharp, contact info below
updated 2021
Are death penalty opponents really concerned about innocents at risk? Of course.
However, as innocents are more at risk without the death penalty, it is appropriate to challenge their understanding of that easily accessible fact.
1) There is no known actual innocent executed in the US, at least, possibly, since 1915.
Possibly, 0.4% of all those sentenced to death since 1973 may have been actually innocent. All were released. An incredible record of accuracy - 99.6% accuracy in proper actual guilt convictions, with the 0.4% released (1).
2) Anti death penalty folks say taking the death penalty away eliminates actual innocents dying prior to their exoneration. Nonsense.
While we have executed over 1500 murderers in the US (1973-2021) about 5,000 inmates per year die while in custody (2). We cannot bring back any of those that may have been innocent, either.
3) Murderers that we have allowed to murder again, recidivist murderers, MIGHT number around 20000 since 1973 , based upon existing studies (3).
4) Since 1973, the same year several states re instated the death penalty, post Furman, some 500, 000 innocents have been murdered by known recidivist criminals. (4).
5) 24 studies, beginning in 1996, find for a deterrent effect, ranging from 1-28 innocent lives spared per execution, or totals from 1,500 - 42,000 innocent lives saved, from 1973-2021 (4).
Based upon an estimated 800,000 murders in the US (1973-2021), that represents a range from 0.18% to 5% of potential murderers who were deterred from committing murder - a huge savings in innocent lives spared.
6) The death penalty spares more innocent lives than does a life sentence, in two additional ways, as well:
Enhanced due process and enhanced incapacitation.
No one questions that the death penalty has greater due process protections than a life sentence, thereby the death penalty protects actual innocents to a higher degree than any lesser sanction.
Neither does anyone question that living murderers harm and murder, again and that executed ones do not.
6) REALITY: ARE DEATH PENALTY OPPONENTS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT INNOCENT LIVES AT RISK?
Of course, but . . . The reality is that we can spare murderers lives and thus sacrifice more innocents or we can spare more innocent lives by executing more murderers.
Look at Ernest van den Haag's interview of well known anti death penalty activists. He asked them, if it was proven that 100 innocent lives were spared per execution, via deterrence, would you still oppose the death penalty. All said yes (5).
Based upon our 1500 executions (1973-2021), those anti death penalty folks would chose sparing the lives of 1500 murderers over saving the lives of 150,000 innocents.
Think about that.
Well known anti death penalty scholars "(Charles) Black and (Hugo Adam ) Bedau said they would favor abolishing the death penalty even if they knew that doing so would increase the homicide rate by 1,000 percent." (5).
For them, they would chose sparing the lives of 1500 murderers (from 1973-2021) over saving an additional 7.3 million innocent lives, taken by murder.
Astounding.
For some very well known leaders of the anti death penalty movement, their motivation is not protecting innocents, but protecting the lives of all murderers, no matter the cost in innocent lives. That's their moral choice.
They, and all death penalty opponents, need to face that.
NOTE: I am making two points with this information. If anti death penalty folks were concerned about innocents, their efforts would be to fix the huge problems in the criminal justice system which really sacrifice innocents lives, as opposed to trying to end the death penalty, a penalty which assists in sparing additional innocent lives.
I think many of those opposed to capital punishment would change their minds if they knew that sparing murderers sacrificed more innocent lives.
Dudley Sharp
e-mail sharpjfa@aol.com, 713-622-5491, Houston, Texas
Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS , VOA and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O'Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.
A former opponent of capital punishment, he has written and granted interviews about, testified on and debated the subject of the death penalty, extensively and internationally.
f) "The innocence tactic: Unreliable studies and disinformation", reports By United States Congress, Senate, 107th Congress, 2d Session, Calender no 731, Report 107-315. The Innocence Protection Act of 2002, (iv) The innocence tactic: Unreliable studies and disinformation, p 65-69
http://alturl.com/6j7oc
g) "The Innocent and the Shammed", Joshua Marquis, Published in New York Times, 1/26/2006
http://coastda.blogspot.com/2006/01/innocent-and-shammed-nyt-oped.html
Are death penalty opponents really concerned about innocents at risk? Of course.
However, as innocents are more at risk without the death penalty, it is appropriate to challenge their understanding of that easily accessible fact.
1) There is no known actual innocent executed in the US, at least, possibly, since 1915.
Possibly, 0.4% of all those sentenced to death since 1973 may have been actually innocent. All were released. An incredible record of accuracy - 99.6% accuracy in proper actual guilt convictions, with the 0.4% released (1).
2) Anti death penalty folks say taking the death penalty away eliminates actual innocents dying prior to their exoneration. Nonsense.
While we have executed over 1500 murderers in the US (1973-2021) about 5,000 inmates per year die while in custody (2). We cannot bring back any of those that may have been innocent, either.
3) Murderers that we have allowed to murder again, recidivist murderers, MIGHT number around 20000 since 1973 , based upon existing studies (3).
4) Since 1973, the same year several states re instated the death penalty, post Furman, some 500, 000 innocents have been murdered by known recidivist criminals. (4).
5) 24 studies, beginning in 1996, find for a deterrent effect, ranging from 1-28 innocent lives spared per execution, or totals from 1,500 - 42,000 innocent lives saved, from 1973-2021 (4).
Based upon an estimated 800,000 murders in the US (1973-2021), that represents a range from 0.18% to 5% of potential murderers who were deterred from committing murder - a huge savings in innocent lives spared.
6) The death penalty spares more innocent lives than does a life sentence, in two additional ways, as well:
Enhanced due process and enhanced incapacitation.
No one questions that the death penalty has greater due process protections than a life sentence, thereby the death penalty protects actual innocents to a higher degree than any lesser sanction.
Neither does anyone question that living murderers harm and murder, again and that executed ones do not.
6) REALITY: ARE DEATH PENALTY OPPONENTS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT INNOCENT LIVES AT RISK?
Of course, but . . . The reality is that we can spare murderers lives and thus sacrifice more innocents or we can spare more innocent lives by executing more murderers.
Look at Ernest van den Haag's interview of well known anti death penalty activists. He asked them, if it was proven that 100 innocent lives were spared per execution, via deterrence, would you still oppose the death penalty. All said yes (5).
Based upon our 1500 executions (1973-2021), those anti death penalty folks would chose sparing the lives of 1500 murderers over saving the lives of 150,000 innocents.
Think about that.
Well known anti death penalty scholars "(Charles) Black and (Hugo Adam ) Bedau said they would favor abolishing the death penalty even if they knew that doing so would increase the homicide rate by 1,000 percent." (5).
For them, they would chose sparing the lives of 1500 murderers (from 1973-2021) over saving an additional 7.3 million innocent lives, taken by murder.
Astounding.
For some very well known leaders of the anti death penalty movement, their motivation is not protecting innocents, but protecting the lives of all murderers, no matter the cost in innocent lives. That's their moral choice.
They, and all death penalty opponents, need to face that.
NOTE: I am making two points with this information. If anti death penalty folks were concerned about innocents, their efforts would be to fix the huge problems in the criminal justice system which really sacrifice innocents lives, as opposed to trying to end the death penalty, a penalty which assists in sparing additional innocent lives.
I think many of those opposed to capital punishment would change their minds if they knew that sparing murderers sacrificed more innocent lives.
Dudley Sharp
e-mail sharpjfa@aol.com, 713-622-5491, Houston, Texas
Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS , VOA and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O'Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.
A former opponent of capital punishment, he has written and granted interviews about, testified on and debated the subject of the death penalty, extensively and internationally.
======
Victims' Voices
1) A Review: The "Exonerated"/"Innocent" Frauds
a) Deception: The DPIC "Exonerated"/"Innocence" List
(see fact checking/vetting model-use it)
b) Death Row, "Exonerations", Media & Intentional Fraud
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2019/06/death-row-exonerations-intentional-fraud.html
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2019/06/death-row-exonerations-intentional-fraud.html
c) The Innocent Frauds: Standard Anti Death Penalty Deception
d) How many DNA "exonerations" are guilty?Section (3) within
Death Row, "Exonerations", Media & Intentional Fraud
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2019/06/death-row-exonerations-intentional-fraud.html
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2019/06/death-row-exonerations-intentional-fraud.html
e) The 4.1% "Innocent" on Death Row: More Nonsense
f) "The innocence tactic: Unreliable studies and disinformation", reports By United States Congress, Senate, 107th Congress, 2d Session, Calender no 731, Report 107-315. The Innocence Protection Act of 2002, (iv) The innocence tactic: Unreliable studies and disinformation, p 65-69
http://alturl.com/6j7oc
g) "The Innocent and the Shammed", Joshua Marquis, Published in New York Times, 1/26/2006
http://coastda.blogspot.com/2006/01/innocent-and-shammed-nyt-oped.html
h) f) Not a death penalty case but a great example of folks refusing to fact check/vet/research, as well as intentional deception.
(2) Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables, Bureau of Justice Statistics, SEE 7 links on right side of page. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/dcrp/dictabs.cfm
(3) "Recidivism of Prisoners Released", Bureau of Justice Statistics
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=44
See both studies, of 1983 and 1994 data
6.6% recidivism rate, 1989 study of 1983 data
1.2% recidivism rate, 2002 study of 1994 data
The combined recidivism rate for the two studies is 3.9%. These rates are based upon re-arrest, not re-conviction.
I suspect the real recidivism rate, looking at 1973-2012, will be closer to half that, at 2%.
Why the recidivism rates should be higher:
Both of these studies only looked at recidivism for 3 years after release. We are concerned with recidivism for 40 years and less, years 1973-2012, as the modern era of new death penalty statutes began in 1973. Recidivism rates will be higher if released prisoners were tracked for the additonal 4 years to 40 years, as opposed to only 3 years. In addition, rates from 1973-1983, will likely be about the same as the 6.6%, if not higher, because we had barely started the period of longer sentences and increased incarcerations rates.
Why the recidivism rates should be lower:
The dramatic reduction in recidivism between the two studies reflects a dramatic increase in sentencing terms and incarceration rates, which amounted to lower rates of early release and thus recidivism.
EXACT NUMBERS: Based upon convictions, 8.4% of those on death row had murdered, at least one person, prior to committing additional murder or murders which put them on death row --an estimated 600-1000 additional innocents murdered, by those who had murdered before, just for that small set that have made it to death row.
Table 8. Criminal history profile of prisoners under sentence of death by race and Hispanic origin, 2005", p 6, Capital Punishment, 2005, Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cp05.pdf
2005 was the last year of this analysis
(4) See Footnote:
(5) Louis P. Pojman. "The Wisdom of Capital Punishment." p 281, Excerpted from The Death Penalty by Louis P. Pojman and J. Reiman. Copyright 1998. taken from http://faculty.msmary.edu/conway/PHIL%20400x/Pojman%20Wisdom%20of%20CP.pdf
"Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let's be clear"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html
The Absurdity of the "Exonerated Five"
The very obvious frauds of the Central Park Five
(2) Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables, Bureau of Justice Statistics, SEE 7 links on right side of page. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/dcrp/dictabs.cfm
(3) "Recidivism of Prisoners Released", Bureau of Justice Statistics
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=44
See both studies, of 1983 and 1994 data
6.6% recidivism rate, 1989 study of 1983 data
1.2% recidivism rate, 2002 study of 1994 data
The combined recidivism rate for the two studies is 3.9%. These rates are based upon re-arrest, not re-conviction.
I suspect the real recidivism rate, looking at 1973-2012, will be closer to half that, at 2%.
Why the recidivism rates should be higher:
Both of these studies only looked at recidivism for 3 years after release. We are concerned with recidivism for 40 years and less, years 1973-2012, as the modern era of new death penalty statutes began in 1973. Recidivism rates will be higher if released prisoners were tracked for the additonal 4 years to 40 years, as opposed to only 3 years. In addition, rates from 1973-1983, will likely be about the same as the 6.6%, if not higher, because we had barely started the period of longer sentences and increased incarcerations rates.
Why the recidivism rates should be lower:
The dramatic reduction in recidivism between the two studies reflects a dramatic increase in sentencing terms and incarceration rates, which amounted to lower rates of early release and thus recidivism.
EXACT NUMBERS: Based upon convictions, 8.4% of those on death row had murdered, at least one person, prior to committing additional murder or murders which put them on death row --an estimated 600-1000 additional innocents murdered, by those who had murdered before, just for that small set that have made it to death row.
Table 8. Criminal history profile of prisoners under sentence of death by race and Hispanic origin, 2005", p 6, Capital Punishment, 2005, Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cp05.pdf
2005 was the last year of this analysis
(4) See Footnote:
"Dudley Sharp: Far more innocents
would die without the death penalty", Dallas Morning News,Texas Death Penalty
Blog, December 15, 2010
(5) Louis P. Pojman. "The Wisdom of Capital Punishment." p 281, Excerpted from The Death Penalty by Louis P. Pojman and J. Reiman. Copyright 1998. taken from http://faculty.msmary.edu/conway/PHIL%20400x/Pojman%20Wisdom%20of%20CP.pdf
Related Issues:
OF COURSE THE DEATH PENALTY DETERS
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/03/of-course-death-penalty-deters.html
OF COURSE THE DEATH PENALTY DETERS
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/03/of-course-death-penalty-deters.html
LIFE: MUCH PREFERRED OVER EXECUTION:
99.7% of murderers tells us "Give me life, not execution"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/11/life-much-preferred-over-execution.html'
99.7% of murderers tells us "Give me life, not execution"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/11/life-much-preferred-over-execution.html'
The Death Penalty: Do Innocents Matter?
See sections C and D within
The Death Penalty: Saving More Innocent Lives
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/03/death-penalty-saving-more-innocent.html
The Death Penalty: Saving More Innocent Lives
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/03/death-penalty-saving-more-innocent.html
"DEATH PENALTY DETERRENCE CLARIFIED"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/death-penalty-deterrence-clarified.html
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/death-penalty-deterrence-clarified.html
DETERRENCE, THE DEATH PENALTY & MURDER RATES
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/deterrence-death-penalty-murder-rates.html
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/deterrence-death-penalty-murder-rates.html
"Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let's be clear"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html
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Victim's Voices - These are the murder victims
