NCJ Number
87383
Journal
Time Dated: (January 24, 1983) Pages: 28,30-32,35-36,38-39
Date Published
1983
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the history and current debate over capital punishment, citing relevant Supreme Court decisions, State laws, and studies. It profiles several inmates on Death Row.
Abstract
As the U.S. homicide rate increased (it stands at 9.8 per 100,000 today), so did public opinion favoring capital punishment. At any one time no more than a third of the States have been without a death penalty provision. Americans seem to want it both ways, retaining the right to execute miscreants, as well as having the option not to exercise that awful power. Except for an argument by economist Isaac Ehrlich, studies have not supported the argument that capital punishment deters murderers any better than the prospect of long prison terms. Proponents of the death penalty rarely base their arguments on facts, and opponents generally cite the advantages of prison terms without parole over capital punishment as a better deterrence tool. There is racism in many death penalty decisions and the possibility that an innocent person could be executed. However, the eye-for-an-eye philosophy still appeals to many people. The answer to the public's vengeful attitudes may lie in laws providing for life without parole for certain murderers, although these sentences are thought too severe since fewer than 1 percent of freed murderers kill again after their release from prison.