DETERRENCE, THE DEATH PENALTY & MURDER RATES

DETERRENCE, THE DEATH PENALTY & MURDER RATES
Dudley Sharp

updated 2015

Gross murder rates cannot be a consistent method of measuring deterrence, for a variety of well know reasons (1).

A measurement of net changes in murders, meaning that there would be more or less net murders, based upon executions or the lack, thereof, is the proper calculation, whether or not gross murder rates, go up, down or stay the same, just as with deterrence, all crimes and all crime rates.

As many anti death penalty folks, including academics, wrongly, present some gross murder numbers as a foundation for arguing against deterrence, I present this:

HISTORY: MURDER RATES AND EXECUTION CYCLES

Gross murder rates, by themselves are not the normal, accurate method of measuring deterrence, although some studies show reduced murders, soon after executions (1), however . . . .

1. The United States has had double digit executions, annually, from 1984 - 2014 (3).

Murders went to  46 year low (2),

Murder rates went to a 57 year low. (2).

It's not surprising that death sentences went to a 40 year low (3).

2. Double digit annual executions stopped in the US in 1964 and resumed in 1984 (3).

During that period, murders increased by 100%

murders in 1964 9,360 (2)

murders in 1984 18,670 (2)

3. There was a moratorium on all executions in the US from 1967 to 1977 (3).

During that period, there was a 56% increase in murders (2).

murders is 1967 were 12,240 (2)

murders in 1977 were 19,120 (2)

TEXAS

Capital murders may have dropped by 80% or more in Texas since 1991 (2).

Murder in combination with robberies makes up, by far, the largest percentage of death penalty eligible murders.

Murders have dropped 55%, robberies 35% (2).

A much lower occurrence of robbery/murders equals a much lower number of death sentences.

The per capita robbery/murders will have dropped even more dramatically, because Texas has seen a population explosion during this period.

Murders rates have dropped 71%, robberies 60% (2).

The drop in capital murders is but the most obvious and pronounced explanation for a drop in death sentences.

Contributions to that drop also include:

1) Plea bargains to life without parole (LWOP) , a plea only possible with the death penalty;
2) Two classes of murderers have been excluded from the death penalty, that being those under 18 and those with mental retardation; and
3) Depending upon conditions within individual jurisdictions, with a downturn in the economy, the up front costs of the death penalty may have caused some jurisdictions to offer either plea bargains or lesser than death penalty option trials, to a degree more than in the past.

and others

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1) a) "Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let's be clear"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html

    b)  DETERRENCE, THE DEATH PENALTY & MURDER RATES
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/deterrence-death-penalty-murder-rates.html

     c) "DEATH PENALTY DETERRENCE CLARIFIED"

http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/death-penalty-deterrence-clarified.html

NOTE:  There are some deterrence studies which find a reduction in murders, soon after executions. However, I am, primarily, dealing with murders and murder rates for any given year.

2) United States Crime Data, from FBI UCR
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

The Disaster Center is a convenient and reliable source for crime data

and see 1957, from
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873729.html

Texas
             murders    robberies
1991      2652           47900
2014      1192           31021
dif          1460           16870
less         55%            35%

US
              murders      robberies
1991        24,700      687,730
2014       14,164        322,905
dif           10,536        364,725      
less          43%              53%

Source: Disaster Center, from FBI UCR
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/


3) Capital Punishment, 2013 - Statistical Tables, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Tracy Snell, Dec 2014, Table 11, page 14, and Figure 5, page 3.
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cp10st.pdf

RELATED ISSUES

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

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

"DEATH PENALTY DETERRENCE CLARIFIED"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/12/death-penalty-deterrence-clarified.html

Innocents More At Risk Without Death Penalty
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/03/innocents-more-at-risk-without-death.html

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Victim's Voices - These are the murder victims

http://www.murdervictims.com/Voices/voices.html