"[T]o those who say the death penalty is not a deterrent, I have two stock answers: One, it is not called capital deterrent, it is called capital punishment; and two, it for sure deters the condemned inmate from committing another crime."
And talk about Alabamans not too sure about the death penalty.
1 comment:
Carpundit:
The distinction is correct. This story is an example of an argument for specific deterrence. For an argument that in fact the death penalty is a general deterrent, and for the implication of that fact for the state (does the deterrent effect mean the state should execute more often?) see this article: http://www.aei.brookings.org/admin/authorpdfs/page.php?id=1131
(pdf needed).
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