In response to the recent calls for the death penalty to be reintroduced I thought I would do a bit of digging into whether such a punishment would be an effective deterrent for violent crime.
I believe a effective punitive system should be primarily about reducing crime. Any changes to that system should be backed up with evidence that those changes will be effective at lowering crime rates.
When someone breaks the law then there should be a system in place that has the power to remove those who cannot live in harmony with society. What is sometimes forgotten and perhaps more important is that this system should also be effective in rehabilitating those that are to be released so that on their release they do not commit crime again. No system of crime and punishment should be about revenge.
I personally think that the death penalty is barbaric, be that as it may if there was evidence that the threat of the death penalty was an effective way of reducing violent crimes then I could see the argument for it. I would still hold my position but I would have to concede that this position was not based on evidence. So that is the question; does the threat of a death penalty deter violent criminals?
If I were to compare murder rates between countries then this data would arguably be unreliable. It would be open to criticism that each country has a different culture and society and so direct comparisons are unfair. The only fair comparison is to have one country that has different positions on the death penalty across its land. Fortunately such a country exits.
Below is a table of crime rates for the United States of America per State. I have ordered the States by murder rate per 100,000. Each State has its own position on the death penalty and so if this acted as a deterrent then we would expect to see all the states that abolished the death penalty at the top of the list and all those that haven’t at the bottom.
Crime Rate by State, 2007
(rate per 100,000 inhabitants)
| State | Violent Crime Total | Murder1 | Forcible Rape | Robbery | Death Penalty | Year Abolished |
| La. | 729.5 | 14.2 | 32.4 | 141.7 | Yes | n/a |
| Md. | 641.9 | 9.8 | 21 | 236 | Yes | n/a |
| Ala. | 448 | 8.9 | 33.4 | 159.9 | Yes | n/a |
| N.M. | 664.2 | 8.2 | 52.4 | 117.8 | Yes* | 2009 |
| S.C. | 788.3 | 8 | 39.5 | 144 | Yes | n/a |
| Nev. | 750.6 | 7.5 | 42.7 | 270.2 | Yes | n/a |
| Ga. | 493.2 | 7.5 | 22.8 | 181.7 | Yes | n/a |
| Ariz. | 482.7 | 7.4 | 29.3 | 151.7 | Yes | n/a |
| Miss. | 291.3 | 7.1 | 35.6 | 98.2 | Yes | n/a |
| Mich. | 536 | 6.7 | 45.5 | 133.2 | No | 1846 |
| Ark. | 529.4 | 6.7 | 44.7 | 106.7 | Yes | n/a |
| Fla. | 722.6 | 6.6 | 33.7 | 209.1 | Yes | n/a |
| Mo. | 504.9 | 6.5 | 29.2 | 121.9 | Yes | n/a |
| N.C. | 466.4 | 6.5 | 26.3 | 149.5 | Yes | n/a |
| Tenn. | 753.3 | 6.4 | 35.3 | 179 | Yes | n/a |
| Alaska | 661.2 | 6.4 | 77.4 | 85.3 | No | 1957 |
| Calif. | 522.6 | 6.2 | 24.7 | 193 | Yes | n/a |
| Okla. | 499.6 | 6.1 | 43.1 | 93.2 | Yes | n/a |
| Ill. | 533.2 | 5.9 | 31.9 | 179.7 | Yes* | 2011 |
| Tex. | 510.6 | 5.9 | 35.3 | 162.2 | Yes | n/a |
| Pa. | 416.5 | 5.8 | 27.7 | 156.5 | Yes | n/a |
| Ind. | 333.6 | 5.6 | 27.5 | 124.1 | Yes | n/a |
| Va. | 269.7 | 5.3 | 22.6 | 99.2 | Yes | n/a |
| Ky. | 295 | 4.8 | 32.6 | 95.9 | Yes | n/a |
| Ohio | 343.2 | 4.5 | 38.8 | 159.2 | Yes | n/a |
| N.J. | 329.3 | 4.4 | 12.1 | 144.5 | Yes* | 2007 |
| Del. | 689.2 | 4.3 | 38.9 | 197.3 | Yes | n/a |
| N.Y. | 414.1 | 4.2 | 15.2 | 161.1 | No | 2004 |
| Kans. | 452.7 | 3.9 | 44.3 | 72.6 | Yes | n/a |
| Nebr. | 302.4 | 3.8 | 29.7 | 62.4 | Yes | n/a |
| W. Va. | 275.2 | 3.5 | 20.4 | 47 | No | 1965 |
| Wis. | 290.9 | 3.3 | 21.8 | 97.7 | No | 1853 |
| Idaho | 239.4 | 3.3 | 38.5 | 15.5 | Yes | n/a |
| Colo. | 347.8 | 3.1 | 41.1 | 71 | Yes | n/a |
| Wyo. | 239.3 | 3.1 | 30.6 | 16.1 | Yes | n/a |
| Conn. | 256 | 3 | 18.8 | 103 | Yes | n/a |
| Mass. | 431.5 | 2.9 | 25.3 | 108.6 | No | 1984 |
| Wash. | 333.1 | 2.7 | 40.6 | 93.6 | Yes | n/a |
| Minn. | 288.7 | 2.2 | 36 | 91.8 | No | 1911 |
| Utah | 234.8 | 2.2 | 34.3 | 53.7 | Yes | n/a |
| S.D. | 169.2 | 2.1 | 38.7 | 114.3 | Yes | n/a |
| Ore. | 287.6 | 1.9 | 33.5 | 76.4 | Yes | n/a |
| N.D. | 142.4 | 1.9 | 32.4 | 10.9 | No | 1973 |
| Vt. | 124.3 | 1.9 | 19.8 | 12.9 | No | 1964 |
| R.I. | 227.3 | 1.8 | 24.2 | 71 | No | 1984 |
| Hawaii | 272.8 | 1.7 | 25.4 | 86.1 | No | 1948 |
| Maine | 118 | 1.6 | 29.7 | 26.5 | No | 1887 |
| Mont. | 287.5 | 1.5 | 30.3 | 19.9 | Yes | n/a |
| Iowa | 294.7 | 1.2 | 30.3 | 43.9 | No | 1965 |
| N.H. | 137.3 | 1.1 | 25.3 | 32.8 | Yes | n/a |
NOTE: Violent crimes are murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crimes are burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Data are not included for the property crime of arson.
*These states abolished the death penalty after the crime rate statistics were compiled.
1. Includes nonnegligent manslaughter.
Of the 50 states 13 have abolished the death penalty before 2007, of these 11 appear in the bottom half of the table and 6 of those help make up the bottom 10. The average murder rate per 100,000 for States with the death penalty is 5.6 the average for those without is 2.8.
The numbers speak for themselves. The threat of the death penalty is no deterrent to violent crime. We must not allow this coming debate to be held on these terms and make it clear that the death penalty has nothing to do with reducing crime numbers; it is about revenge alone.
Data compiled from these sources
Crime rate per state: http://www.infoplease.com/us/statistics/crime-rate-state.html
States with and without death penalty: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and-without-death-penalty
