The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) recent­ly com­plet­ed a study of the effect of exe­cu­tions on homi­cide rates and found that both states that exe­cute many peo­ple and states that exe­cute no one show the biggest decline in homi­cides (34% and 36% declines, respec­tive­ly). States that exe­cute few peo­ple have the least decline (24%) in homi­cides. According to the study, ​“This pecu­liar result sug­gests the death penal­ty is irrel­e­vant to homi­cide.” The study looked at the effect of the 1,051 legal exe­cu­tions on the 446,457 homi­cides in the 50 states and D.C. dur­ing the 1984 – 2006 peri­od.

If there were a true deter­rent effect, the CJCJ argues, then even the states that exe­cute a few peo­ple would have a stronger decline in homi­cides than those that exe­cute no one. Instead, the data shows that the homi­cide rates in states such as Texas, which leads the nation in exe­cu­tions, and in non-exe­cu­tion states such as New York, show the biggest declines. This pat­tern, ​“strong­ly argue[s] death penal­ty and homi­cide rates are unrelated.”

(“Death Penalty and Deterrence: The Last Word,” by Mike Males, PhD, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, April 2008). Posted on April 14, 2008. See Deterrence and Studies.


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