Every study proves it. And the quicker it is implemented, the more lives it saves.

Among the conclusions:

• Each execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors at Emory University. (Other studies have estimated the deterred murders per execution at three, five and 14).

• The Illinois moratorium on executions in 2000 led to 150 additional homicides over four years following, according to a 2006 study by professors at the University of Houston.

• Speeding up executions would strengthen the deterrent effect. For every 2.75 years cut from time spent on death row, one murder would be prevented, according to a 2004 study by an Emory University professor.

And for all the folks criticizing the studies, there has not been a single study to show that they are wrong. People just don't like the outcome.

And this also overlooks the other important issue -- no one who is executed ever commits another murder, while those sentenced to life without parole or a lesser sentence have the capacity to (and, indeed, have) kill fellow inmates and/or guards at the facility where they are incarcerated. After all, how much deterrent effect is there in sentencing an individual serving a life sentence to another life sentence?

Now this is not to say that we should rush to execute anybody, or that we should lower procedural safeguards. However, it does indicate that eliminating the death penalty results in a greater death toll.

Posted by: Greg at 01:20 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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