One argument for the death penalty is that the usual alternative—life in prison without possibility of parole—imposes a financial burden on taxpayers (about $60,000-$70,000 per death row inmate per year, according to a recent estimate). Yet capital punishment is
Hi Adam. I have a graph of the US execution rate and homicide rate over time that I find useful in addressing this issue. I don't see a way to attach / post that graph in substack, but I could send if you want to provide an email address. (my (publicly available) email is miron@fas.harvard.edu).
That aside, I don't quite see the long term data (the graph starts in 1900) as confirming the claim that CP worked when applied frequently, as in the 1990s. First, while the execution rate was higher in the 1990s than now, it was still quite low: 50-100 at most per year, since WWII. Second, while it is true that executions rose while homicide fell in the 1990s, consistent with a deterrent effect, the overall correlation between the # of execution and the homicide rate is quite low, considering the full century plus.
If I’m interpreting the available evidence correctly, capital punishment works as deterrence when applied very frequently (as it was in the 1990s), but that’s unworkable for the reasons you list & I find the deontological arguments against it compelling anyway.
Hi Adam. I have a graph of the US execution rate and homicide rate over time that I find useful in addressing this issue. I don't see a way to attach / post that graph in substack, but I could send if you want to provide an email address. (my (publicly available) email is miron@fas.harvard.edu).
That aside, I don't quite see the long term data (the graph starts in 1900) as confirming the claim that CP worked when applied frequently, as in the 1990s. First, while the execution rate was higher in the 1990s than now, it was still quite low: 50-100 at most per year, since WWII. Second, while it is true that executions rose while homicide fell in the 1990s, consistent with a deterrent effect, the overall correlation between the # of execution and the homicide rate is quite low, considering the full century plus.
Happy to discuss in more detail,
jeff
If I’m interpreting the available evidence correctly, capital punishment works as deterrence when applied very frequently (as it was in the 1990s), but that’s unworkable for the reasons you list & I find the deontological arguments against it compelling anyway.
Please fact check and vet and, then, re-write: as per
Saving Costs with The Death Penalty - All sources provided
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/02/death-penalty-cost-saving-money.html
and
Deterrence, Death Penalties & Executions
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2019/04/deterrence-death-penalties-executions.html
The Death Penalty: Saving More Innocent Lives
https://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-death-penalty-do-innocents-matter.html