Danno

The death penalty definitely deters the perpetrator from murdering someone again.

alexonfyre

So does life in prison and....NEVER MIND!! NOT GOING THERE!! BACK TO BAD MOUTHING GOODELL!

Danno

He didn't claim life in prison didn't deter crime.

FinSaint

But it's deterring quality can also backfire, for example in a case where the perpetrator knows that a certain crime that he/she is committing is punishable by death - there is a higher incentive for him/her to kill all potential witnesses.

That is why at certain point the attended deterrence can actually cause more crime than it decreases.

Danno

That same incentive exists if the penalty is life in prison too.

The death penalty isn't a deterrent, its a punishment for murdering another human being.

FinSaint

Every punishment in the judicial system automatically carries with it a deterrence quality (including the death penalty), that has been the case ever since the criminal system took the pivotal step towards having the ultimate goal of rehabilitating perpetrators instead of simply punishing them. Hence a system of corrections and rehabilitation exists nowadays instead of a straightforward penal system of the olden times.

Of course experts disagree and it is to some extent a matter of opinion, but I do think that there is a higher chance of a perpetrator committing additional crimes if the consequence of the initial crime is a death penalty instead of penalty of life in prison. And we have to remember that in US only the federal system carries a life sentence without parole, so in practice a "life in prison" can mean a 20 to 30 year prison sentence before parole in the state system.

"I'm not bashing people, I'm bashing their opinions because in my opinion their opinion is wrong" - Danno