Studies say death penalty deters crime

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Gibsie
Drogue is indeed right, Sandman. Imagine if there was a 0.1% chance that taking a single aspirin pill would kill you. Even though it's really low odds, would you be more or less likely to take the pill when you have a blazing headache?

The problem with this line of reasoning is that it's just that -- a line of reasoning. It's logical. Most murders are committed by people who aren't thinking at all, let alone thinking clearly.

Moreover, if people really did think about the punishment that would be fit to their crime, one would imagine that the prospect of being gangraped in the shower for life would actually be a greater deterrent than the prospect of being killed by the State.

[MJW]

Being put in a Supermax sucks just as much if not more so then capital punishment. As long as there are Supermaxs we don't need a death penalty to deter crime.

Also, if the death penalty is wrong then Supermaxs are to.

[SlowwHand]

That's such a brain dead comment.

[MRT144]

so essentially this says that people whom do statistics engage in debates on the way the studies were done.

[MJW]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
That's such a brain dead comment.

Oh, you should know that I'm pro-death penalty.

*mjw has been nailed down*

[SlowwHand]

Oh. Ok, then.

[MRT144]

does the death penalty deter enough crime for the cost of it?

[SlowwHand]

For the cost of what? The cost of the death penalty?
Go find a relaiable reference on the dollars. I'm not bothering, because I also factor in the danger they always present.

[Gibsie]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
The problem with this line of reasoning is that it's just that -- a line of reasoning. It's logical. Most murders are committed by people who aren't thinking at all, let alone thinking clearly.

If that's the case, then most murders aren't murders at all as it generally requires premeditation

[MRT144]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
For the cost of what? The cost of the death penalty?
Go find a relaiable reference on the dollars. I'm not bothering, because I also factor in the danger they always present.

could the same amount of money spent on the death of one inmate prevent more murders if spent on different crime prevention measures?

[SlowwHand]

What would you suggest?

[MRT144]

make the death penalty cheaper? thats about all i could suggest.

assuming that the resources of crime prevention are drawn from the same budget as that for prison and courts, I think that if the cost of going for the death penalty exceeds a certain amount then it easily becomes not worth it.

for instance if you believe that 1 million dollars a year spent on crime prevention could prevent more deaths than 1 million dollars a year spent on pursuing the death penalty of one inmate we should spend that 1 million dollars on crime prevention.

[SlowwHand]

So, maybe provide concealed weapons and training to citizens. If you have a record, no-go. I like that idea.

[MRT144]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
So, maybe provide concealed weapons and training to citizens. If you have a record, no-go. I like that idea.

perhaps.

but then again concealed weapons permits don't seem that effective except in situations where the murder occurs in public, where having a concealed weapon permit would be used.

if you are much more likely to be killed in your own home rather than in public having a gun at home would make more sense than a concealed weapons permit.

same goes for knowing the murderer. if having a concealed weapon primarily prevents random person attacking you, then what benefit is it if you know the person and they kill you when you don't expect it.

we'd have to look at the amount of death penalty crimes that took place that could have been prevented by concealed weapons or that someone who was murdered would even have a concealed weapon (sure that woman could have been saved if she had a gun, but what makes you think she wanted a gun?).

If allowing concealed weapons is something that only hotheads want, so they can feel more safe and assert their power, and then they lose their cool then how is that beneficial to society?

I don't think concealed weapons are inherently a bad thing or good thing. I just don' t think they are as awful or great as either side would have us believe.

[GePap]

i love how the Ap makes an entire article out of nothing - they take a line of studies that are contested, and tout them as some great revelation.

At least in NYS I can say the Dp has no real deterent effect, since there has been a moriturium. and guess what? The murder rate continues to drop.

The Death Penalty in the U is so rare as to be inconsequential. t didn't stop horse theft when we hanged horse thieves, it will do little of anything to actually lower the murder rate (and no, I don't buy any of these studies).