DEATH PENALTY AND CRIME - EMPIRICAL STUDIES

• NCJ Number: 62667
• Author(s): K SHIN
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 288 pages
• Corporate Author: George Mason University
• Sale Source: George Mason University Press
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A SERIES OF EIGHT EMPIRICAL STUDIES EXAMINES THE DETERRENT EFFECT OF THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF VARIOUS FACTORS (E.G., REGION, ECONOMIC, DEMOGRAPHIC) TO CRIME, PARTICULARLY MURDER.

Abstract

THE STUDIES, DONE OVER A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS, ARE PRESENTED IN SIMILAR FORMATS, BEGINNING WITH A LITERATURE REVIEW, STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES AND EMPIRICAL RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, AND REFERENCES. SPECIFICALLY, THEY TEST THESE ISSUES: THE IMPACT OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN VIEW OF THE COMPARATIVELY HIGH U.S. MURDER RATE; THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOMICIDE RATE TO THE DEATH PENALTY ON THE BASIS OF TIME SERIES DATA; THE CRIME RATE DIFFERENCES IN THE U.S. STATES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE; THE VALIDITY OF ECONOMIC INTERPRETATIONS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR; CRIME STATISTICS BY AGE, RACE, AND INCOME IN NEW YORK CITY PRECINCTS; REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN INTELLIGENCE; REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE BIRTH AND DEATH RATES IN THE U.S., AND THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATIC CONDITIONS ON THE CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE U.S. OVERALL, THE STUDIES SHOW THAT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT HAS NOT DETERRED PERSONS FROM COMMITTING HOMICIDES, AND INSTEAD, IMPRISONMENT RATES AND THE DURATION OF PRISON TERMS ARE MORE POSITIVELY RELATED WITH LOWER HOMICIDE RATES. SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL VARIABLES ARE SIGNIFICANT TO CRIME, AND REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN U.S. CRIME ARE APPARENT. ALTHOUGH THE REGRESSION RESULTS OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES ARE NOT CONSISTENT, THEY DO SUPPORT CLAIMS THAT POVERTY AND EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE ARE MAJOR ETIOLOGICAL FACTORS IN CRIME. EXTENSIVE EXAMINATION OF CRIME STATISTICS IN THE 71 PRECINCTS OF NEW YORK CITY SUGGESTS THAT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ARE SIGNIFICANT IN EXPLAINING CRIME, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRECINCTS WHICH HAVE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION LIVING ON WELFARE AND LIVING NEAR AREAS OF HIGH INCOME POPULATIONS. EXAMINATION OF CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE U.S. INDICATES A TENTATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN OVERALL DEATH RATE AND POVERTY, URBAN RESIDENCE, AND COLD WEATHER. FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE, STATISTICAL ANALYSES REVEAL THAT ANTICRIME PROGRAMS ARE INSEPARABLE FROM SOCIOECONOMIC POLICIES WHICH FAVOR MORE EQUAL INCOME DISTRIBUTION AND FULL EMPLOYMENT. EFFICIENT ALLOCATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS WILL DECREASE THE CRIME RATE. REFERENCES AND TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)