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CU-Boulder ECON 4999 - Capital Punishment in America

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1 Robert Haight Edward Morey ECON4999 May 2009 Capital Punishment in America: Why or Why Not? If there ever was a topic that fostered such complex deliberation for an undergraduate to write a critical-thinking essay about, it would, without a doubt, be the issue of capital punishment. Seeing as how it is impossible for even the simplest of societies to reach a common opinion on the subject, there is no point to plainly argue in favor of the death penalty or vise versa. This debate will simply present the aspects of the death penalty in a manner intended to expand the reader’s brain, get them to think critically of more than one way to approach the problem, and eventually help to form or expand upon their own judgments. For starters, we need understand if people really appreciate justice against criminals. Then contemplate if the death penalty serves as a legitimate deterrent to criminals. In an attempt to explore a wide range of opinions, this essay will discuss the views and morals of the American people, then compare that to different societies around the world. Another important aspect to consider is how an economist or utilitarian would construct an argument. We will consider the feelings of the condemned, as well as ponder the desires of the victims and/or the victim’s families. Why does the death penalty even exist? There must a reason why society feels it is necessary to punish those who do not follow the rules; a trait which is commonly held by most of the world. Jonathan Haidt explains the situation as a set of five psychological systems that most mammals are born with. They are: harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, loyalty, authority/respect, purity (Haidt 2007). These traits have been hard-wired into every human on the planet through2 cultural evolution. Because of the harm/care trait, most mammals appreciate virtues such as kindness and compassion fostered by the dislike of any suffering within society. Therefore, cruelty and aggression are considered vices. The second trait, fairness/reciprocity, elucidates how societies are reciprocal in action, consequently justifying action against those cause suffering. “The long history of alliance formation and cooperation among unrelated individuals in many primate species has led to the evolution of a suite of emotions that motivate reciprocal altruism, including anger, guilt, and gratitude” (Haidt 7:2007) Basically, we naturally care for others, and when someone causes problems humans tend to get emotional. Emotional humans desire justice or “fairness”, which is where capital punishment comes into play. Notice also how society, especially in America, has been constructed. The U.S. is a country founded on Christian principles, so what does the Bible say about capital punishment? “Whosoever sheds the blood of Man, In Man shall his blood be shed…” (Genesis 9:6, The Holy Bible) has been taken to literally mean that those who commit murder are subject to death themselves; but by whom? “If a man or a woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant…and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true…take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death” (Deuteronomy 17:2-6, The Holy Bible). Apparently humans are charged with the responsibility to kill those who sin within their own society. The Bible also mentions “let him who is without sin cast the first stone” which means “If the death penalty is understood as an act of God (as it certainly was in ancient Israel), then the judge and executioner must be morally above reproach” (Yoder 438:1991). So who is supposed to carry out the punishment remains contradictory because it is human nature to sin. However, because it was this way in ancient3 times, and our society still conforms to most of the Biblical principles, we still exercise the death penalty because “to kill a killer [has become] a ritual act” (Yoder 436:1991). Now that we have established our society’s thirst for fairness, it may be easier to understand why the death penalty was created. However we must wonder if the death penalty serves as a deterrent to possible criminals. The answer seems to be no for several reasons. First of all, “since the mid-1960s, no one in the United States has been executed for a crime other than murder” (Bailey and Peterson 1994:136). If the death penalty only applies to those convicted of murder then possible criminals who would commit lesser offenses (even rape) need not worry of being executed. Because of this, most research on the deterrence effect of capital punishment is measured by the fluctuations in homicide rates within the subject area. One particular study measured the “Murder Rates for Neighboring Death Penalty and Abolitionist States, 1977-93” (Bailey and Peterson 1994:139). Bailey and Peterson summarized by stating “studies of changes in murder rates before and after the abolition and/or reinstatement of capital punishment revealed that states that abolished the death penalty did not experience unusual increases in homicides. Rather, abolition and/or reintroduction of capital punishment was sometimes followed by an increase in murders and sometimes not. In addition, changes in the murder rates of states experiencing a change in the provision for the death penalty paralleled almost exactly changes in homicides in neighboring states where no statutory change had occurred.” (1994:138) So it seems that in the decision process of criminals, the threat of execution weighs little on whether to carry out the deed or not. Within the several possible explanations of this data, it could be that murder, in most instances, is a crime of passion soliciting anger, revenge, or protection so the thought of one’s own death is not present when making the decision to kill. Another possible problem with capital punishment is that there is a large difference between4 receiving a death sentence and actually being executed, and criminals must know this. The Bureau of Justice Statistics published in 1994 shows the results vary from state to state, but the highest percentage of executions out of total death sentences was in Virginia at 22 percent. Only six states total have percentages higher then ten. This is assuming


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CU-Boulder ECON 4999 - Capital Punishment in America

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