Review of Literature.
Hans Zeisel’s article “The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty: Facts v. Faiths” examines the effects the death penalty has on deterring murder. In this article, Zeisel outlines many experiments that have been conducted regarding the deterring effects of the death penalty. He first describes a study that examined states that have abolished the death penalty. The study compared the murder rates of the state before it abolished capital punishment, to the murder rates of that state after it abolished capital punishment. The next experiment he outlined was on that compared the murder rates of states with the penalty against those without the death penalty. He noted that both of these types of studies are impossible control experiments. This means that none of the data is coming from a controlled experiment, and the data could reflect outcomes due to variables other than what is being studied. Zeisel goes on to explain, “But these numbers are affected by regionally differing apprehension and conviction rates, and indirectly also by differential standards of plea bargaining and jury nullification” (Zeisel, 327). Zeisel goes on to offer many suggestions on how to improve the comparability of states murder rates, focusing mainly on regression analysis. Zeisel explains regression analysis as, “an instrument designed mainly to resolve problems such as this which call for separating the effect of one particular variable from possible effect of a multitude of others” (Zeisel, 326). Even after isolating the variable as much as possible, the data still do not present any kind of statistical significance that the death penalty has any deterring effect on the murder rate.
The findings of the Zeisel article are supported in another article written by William C. Bailey titled, “Deterrence and the Celerity of the Death Penalty: A Neglected Question in Deterrence Research.” Baileys article, “examines the deterrent effects of the celerity of the death penalty on homicide rates” (Bailey, 1308). Although very similar to the Zeisel article, Bailey focuses his study on the effectiveness of celerity when considering the death penalty and how it affects deterrence to capital crimes. He discusses a few studies that have been previously conducted, but focuses on one study preformed by Isaac Ehrlich, which has been cited in many articles concerning the deterring effect of the death penalty. He explains this study in detail, which concludes that the death penalty does have a deterring effect on murder rates, and points out the weaknesses of the study. Bailey then explains his own study starting by listing the sociodemographic control variables. He decides to use four control variables in his final model; the four being: nonwhite population; urban populations; populations 20-40 years of age; and the median family income. After completing the study Bailey reports, “These findings provide no support for the deterrence hypothesis for the certainty and celerity of the death penalty” (Bailey, 1319). This conclusion is very similar to that of Zeisel.
In contrast to the above mentioned articles, Xiaohua Zhu takes a different position on the deterrent effects of the death penalty in his article titled “Death Penalty: Another View.” In this article Zhu writes an opinion article on why the death penalty should not be abolished because of how its deterring effect makes criminals avoid committing violent crimes, as he states, “The second and more important purpose of the death penalty serves is to be a deterrent against would-be perpetrators of heinous crimes. Precisely because of the preciousness of life, the death penalty increases the possibility of making the potential felons think twice and hopefully give up before they commit such acts” (Zhu, 1071). This however, is just a hypothesis to which he gives no practical idea as how to prove or disprove it. His article provides no scientific or statistical facts to back his hypothesis up as the authors of the previously explained articles did. Zhu concludes that the death penalty has a major deterring effect on capital crime, but provides no proof that his conclusions are scientifically significant.
Conclusion
When studying the death penalty it is important to understand what effects it has on society. One of the major areas of research examines if, and to what magnitude the death penalty has deterring effects on capital crime; specifically murder. Part of fully understanding the issue, it is necessary to know what previous studies and works have already been done. This is where a literature review can be beneficial. After completing a literature review, one will find that the deterrence effect of the death penalty has been explored many times, on many different levels. Research can be found in both support and opposition of the deterrence effect. Isaac Ehrlich preformed one of the most famous studies done concerning this issue. His study involved complex equations that looked to describe criminal behavior and choice by attempting to minimize the influence of variables other than the death penalty and the murder rate. Through his devised procedure he was able to conclude that the death penalty does have a significant deterring effect on murder (Ehrlich, 416). He elaborated this finding by stating that for every one death penalty execution, eight lives were saved due to the deterrence effect (Ehrlich, 398). Xiaohua Zhu offers support to this position in his article, advocating that the death penalty does influence potential perpetrators against breaking the law. In contrast to Ehrlich and Zhu, Hans Zeisel offers evidence against the idea that the death penalty has a deterring effect. He explains many different studies that fail to prove statistical significance of deterrence. Likewise, authors William C. Bailey and Karl F. Schuessler point out the limitation of Ehrlich’s experiment, and go on to explain their own studies that failed to prove the death penalty has a deterring effect. Although studies have been preformed that prove both sides of the argument, more research is needed to reach the truth. It is important to understand whether or not the death penalty has deterring effects on the rate of capital crime because it is a social policy that has been debated for quite some time. The more that is known on the issue the best able policy makers are to make decision that best benefit society.
Bailey, William C. "Deterrence and the Celerity of the Death Penalty: A Neglected Question in Deterrence." Social Forces 58.4 (1980): 1308-1333. Web. 13 Feb 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2577328>.
Ehrlich, Isaac. "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death." American Economic Review 65.3 (1975): 397-417. Web. 27 Feb 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1804842>..
Schuessler, Karl F. "The Deterrent Influence of the Death Penalty." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 284. (1952): 54-62. Web. 27 Feb 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1029443>.
Zeisel, Hans. "The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty: Facts v. Faiths." Supreme Court Review (1976): 317-343. Web. 13 Feb 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/>.
Zhu, Xiaohua. "Death Penalty: Another View." Economic and Political Weekly 33.19 (1998): 1071. Web. 27 Feb 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4406746>.