[MBB1984]

Good article. I get sick and tired of hearing that capital punishment is no deterrent to crime. These articles give ample ammunition to the contrary.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

Personally, I’d rather be dead than in prison forever.

[Christian4Bush]

mark

[The Great RJ]

I would agree to ending capital punishment only if there were absolute certainty those given life sentences would not under any circumstance be released. The fact that Charles Manson is even eligible for parole shows the flaw in our system. There is ample evidence from no more than reading the news that dangerous felons such as those convicted of child molestation or murder are not being locked up and are being released under parole or legal technicalities and plea bargains only to commit those crimes again.

[NorthFlaRebel]

I'm in favor of Capital punishment, but not because of any possible deterrent effect. You intentionally take a life(self defense obviously not included), you forefeit yours.

The results show that each additional execution decreases homicides by about five, and each additional commutation increases homicides by the same amount, while an additional removal from death row generates one additional murder.

Personally, I do not buy this at all. There is absolutely no way they could come to such conclusions. Frankly, they just made that up.

“There has been a great deal of research conducted by criminologists on the effectiveness of the death penalty in preventing future homicides . . . While many of these studies find no deterrent effect there are other well designed research reports that reach the opposite conclusion.”

IOW, those against the DP conduct studies that show no deterrent effect and those in favor conduct studies to show the opposite. Same day, different story.

Lets see a show of hands: Who would commit murder if the ultimate penalty was life in prison instead of death?

That's what I thought.

[BuffaloJack]

Capital Punishment’s primary use is a deterent to repeat offenders. He dead. He ain’t gonna do that again.

[William Terrell]

I never thought of capital punishment was meant to be a deterrent. It was meant to permanently remove dangerous predators (who have proved themselves to be by their own sociopathic actions) from the innocent and peaceful population, by the right of the state to protect the population, the same right an individual has to use deadly force to protect himself and his family.