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Many studies during the past few decades have sought to determine whether the death penalty has any deterrent effect on homicide rates. Researchers have reached widely varying, even contradictory, conclusions. Some studies have concluded that the threat of capital punishment deters murders, saving large numbers of lives; other studies have concluded that executions actually increase homicides; still others, that executions have no effect on murder rates. Commentary among researchers, advocates, and policymakers on the scientific validity of the findings has sometimes been acrimonious. Against this backdrop, the National Research Council report Deterrence and the Death Penalty assesses whether the available evidence provides a scientific basis for answering questions of if and how the death penalty affects homicide rates. This new report from the Committee on Law and Justice concludes that research to date on the effect of capital punishment on homicide rates is not useful in determining whether the death penalty increases, decreases, or has no effect on these rates. The key question is whether capital punishment is less or more effective as a deterrent than alternative punishments, such as a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Yet none of the research that has been done accounted for the possible effect of noncapital punishments on homicide rates. The report recommends new avenues of research that may provide broader insight into any deterrent effects from both capital and noncapital punishments.
The issue of capital punishment is a continually-debated issue because it calls into question the values and direction of society. How is a civilisation supposed to handle lawbreakers? Are some crimes so heinous and some people so dangerous that the death penalty is the only appropriate response? The United States Constitution prohibits 'cruel and unusual punishment', but opinions on whether that includes capital punishment are vehement on both sides. Many states have some form of death penalty, and public opinion seems to indicate support of it in principle. However, many firestorms have erupted recently over the application of the penalty, including the topics of its use on minors and those with mental disabilities. There are also questions raised about how much of a factor race plays in a capital sentence. Internationally, several countries have foresworn the death penalty, with certain countries in Europe and the Americas refusing to extradite criminal suspects (including suspected terrorists) to the US if capital punishment is a possible sentence. With such politically flammable and ethically challenging issues hanging over it, capital punishment is a vitally important issue to understand. To help facilitate that study, this book assembles a carefully selected and substantial listing of literature focussing on the death penalty. Anyone researching this area of criminal justice will find this book an important tool as it offers easy access to the most relevant works about capital punishment. Following the bibliography, further access is provided with author, title, and subject indexes.