The Death Penalty: No Evidence for Deterrence (original) (raw)

2000, The Economists' Voice

The debate over the death penalty has hung on several major issues. Here, we'll concentrate on one: Does it act as a deterrent? The claim that it does, is for many people the main reason to support it. George W. Bush stated in the 2000 Presidential debates, "I think the reason to support the death penalty is because it saves other people' s lives," and further that "It' s the only reason to be for it." By contrast, earlier that year, Attorney General Janet Reno stated, "I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent, and I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point." Gary Becker and Richard Posner have recently taken George Bush' s side, but our own comprehensive evaluation of the econometric evidence supports Janet Reno.

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