NCJ Number
195575
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 156-191
Editor(s)
Nanci Koser Wilson
Date Published
June 2002
Length
36 pages
Annotation
The article presents the author's review of the efficacy of the death penalty as a deterrent to aggravated child rape.
Abstract
The author reviewed case files in a study of the criminal justice outcomes attributable to the 1995 amendment to Louisiana’s aggravated rape statute. The statutory amendment made capital punishment a sentencing alternative for offenders convicted of aggravated child rape. The author was particularly interested in the possible deterrent effect of the death penalty to potential offenders. Using data collected from 40 pre and post amendment criminal cases, the author researched the following: 1) whether or not the number of offenses had significantly decreased since the amendment became effective; 2) what effect the amendment had on the plea-bargaining and prosecutorial processes; 3) what factors influenced the disposition of cases at trial; and 4) for convicted offenders, what factors affected the sentence imposed? Based upon analysis of these cases the author found that the primary impact of the amendment was a reduction in the total number of criminal cases brought under the statute. The data further showed no statistically significant impact on variables related to deterrence. 15 tables, 19 references