Matthew B. Robinson, PhD

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The Empirical Realities of Capital Punishment
Does it Work?Is it Good Policy?

• Matthew B. Robinson, PhD
• Appalachian State University

2
How to EvaluateCapital Punishment(or any policy)

• Goals achieved?
• Benefits outweigh costs?

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Goals of Capital Punishment

• Retribution providing justice for society
  (crime victims) by righting the scales of
  justice
• Incapacitation taking away the freedom of
  murderers (by killing them) so they cannot commit
  future crimes
• Deterrence creating fear through executions to
  prevent future crimes

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Three Key Factsof Capital Punishment

• 1) Capital punishment is extremely rare in the
  United States

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Rare Nature of Capital Punishment

• 1977-2006 592,580 murder and nonnegligent
  manslaughters in the United States (average of
  19,752 killings per year)
• -- 7,225 death sentences (average of 241 death
  sentences per year)
• -- 1,099 executions (average of 37 executions per
  year)

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Rare Nature of Capital Punishment

• 1.2 of killings from 1977 to 2006 led to death
  sentences
• 0.185 of killings have led to an execution (so
  far)
• Question Can we achieve our goals when
  executions are this rare?

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Source of data Franklin Zimring (2003). The
Contradictions of American Capital Punishment.
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Death Sentences Becoming Rarer
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Executions Becoming Rarer
Source of data Bureau of Justice Statistics
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Executions Becoming Rarer
Source of chart Death Penalty Information Center
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Even Death Row Has Shrunk!
Source of chart Death Penalty Information Center
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Three Key Factsof Capital Punishment

• 2) Even in leading death penalty states, capital
  punishment is extremely rare!

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Average Death Sentence Rate is 2.2
Above average death penalty rates by state,
1977-1999 (Rate of Death Sentences By Number of
Murders)

• Nevada -- 0.060
• Oklahoma -- 0.051
• Delaware -- 0.048
• Idaho -- 0.047
• Arizona -- 0.043
• Alabama -- 0.038
• Mississippi -- 0.035
• Florida -- 0.034
• Ohio -- 0.028
• North Carolina -- 0.026
• Pennsylvania -- 0.024
• Missouri -- 0.024
• Nebraska -- 0.023
• Georgia -- 0.022
• Oregon -- 0.022

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Rare Nature of Capital Punishment

• Question How many states have executed at least
  ONE inmate per year since 1976???
• Answer NINE

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Rare Nature of Capital Punishment

• Question How many states have executed at least
  TEN inmates per year since 1976???
• Answer ONE!
• Texas (12 executions per year)

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Rare Nature of Capital Punishment

• Texas (1976-2002) -- 51,729 murders (average of
  1,915 killings per year)
• versus only 31 death sentences and
  12 executions per year!
• Texas sentenced to death only 1.6 and executed
  only 0.63 of its murderers

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Three Key Factsof Capital Punishment

• 3) Capital punishment practice is highly
  regionalized!

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Regional Nature of Capital Punishment

• Most modern executions in the South
• 1976-2006 --1,099 executions

• 82 in South
• 12 in Midwest
• 6 in West
• 0 in Northeast (4 total)

• Texas alone (37 of total)
• Texas in 2006 26/53 (49)
• Texas in 2007 24/41 (59)
• Texas in 2008 18/37 (49)
• Texas in 2009 (through April 1) 12/20 (60)

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• Executions from 1977-June 2006
• Darker colors more executions

Source of chart Death Penalty Information Center
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Regional Nature of Capital Punishment
Source of data Death Penalty Information Center
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Recall --How to EvaluateCapital Punishment(or
any policy)

• Goals achieved?
• Costs outweigh benefits?

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Retribution

• Does capital punishment, as actually practiced in
  the United States, achieve retribution (i.e.,
  provide justice for murder victims, their
  families, and society at large)?
• Yes 31
• No 36
• Unsure 33
• n42

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Retribution

• Too rare capital punishment not used enough to
  provide meaningful retribution
• Fails to provide closure many families do not
  feel better after execution
• Delays process takes so long it interferes with
  closure (average of 11 years)
• Excessive can be achieved with life
  imprisonment without parole (LWOP)
• Too costly costs more than LWOP, innocent
  people can be executed, racially biased

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Incapacitation

• Does capital punishment, as actually
• practiced in the United States, achieve
• incapacitation (i.e., prevent future
• murders by killing murderers who would
• murder again)?
• Yes 64
• No 24
• Unsure 12
• n42

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Incapacitation

• Too rare capital punishment not used enough to
  provide meaningful incapacitation
• Unnecessary most murderers never kill again
  anyway
• Excessive can be achieved with life
  imprisonment without parole (LWOP)
• Too costly costs more than LWOP, innocent
  people can be executed, racially biased

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Deterrence

• Does capital punishment, as actually practiced in
  the United States, achieve deterrence (i.e.,
  prevent future murders by causing fear in
  would-be murderers so that they do not commit
  murder)?
• Yes 9
• No 79
• Unsure 12
• n43

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Deterrence

• Too rare capital punishment not used enough to
  provide meaningful deterrence
• Unknown and private executions not even known
  to people and also private so how can they deter?
• Excessive can be achieved with life
  imprisonment without parole (LWOP)
• Brutalization some evidence suggests executions
  increase murder
• Too costly costs more than LWOP, innocent
  people can be executed, racially biased

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Does Capital PunishmentAchieve its Goals?

• NO why?
• Used too infrequently

31
And What About the Costs?

• Racial bias
• Social class bias
• Sex/Gender bias
• Innocence

32
Racial Bias?

• Is American capital punishment plagued by a
  racial bias of any kind?
• Yes 84
• No 7
• Unsure 9
• n43

33
Race

• Race of victim killers of whites far more
  likely to be sentenced to death/executed
• Black killers of whites especially
• Since 1976 15 whites who killed blacks executed
  versus 235 blacks who killed whites!

34
Social Class Bias?

• Is American capital punishment plagued by a
  social class bias of any kind?
• Yes 80
• No 4
• Unsure 16
• n45

35
Class

• Bias in the law only some forms of killings
  even eligible
• Quality of defense poor least able to pay for
  competent defense
• Make-up of death row nearly everyone on death
  row is poor

36
Sex/Gender Bias?

• Is American capital punishment plagued by a
  gender/sex bias of any kind?
• Yes 50
• No 12
• Unsure 38
• n42

37
Gender

• Chivalry less willing to kill women
• Killers of women more likely to be sentenced to
  death, especially killers of white women

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Innocence?

• Is American capital punishment ever used against
  the innocent?
• Yes 76
• No 2
• Unsure 22
• n42

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Innocence

• Wrongful conviction 130 people freed from death
  row
• Wrongful executions people executed despite
  doubts about guilt
• http//deathpenaltyinfo.org/executed-possibly-inno
  cent

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Do Benefits of Capital PunishmentOutweigh the
Costs?

• NO why?
• Few benefits overwhelmed by numerous costs

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Support or Not?

• Do you believe in capital punishment/the death
  penalty, or are you opposed to it?
• Experts Citizens
• Believe in 9 64
• Opposed 80 30
• Unsure 11 6
• n44 Gallup, 2005

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Most supported by Males, Whites Least supported
Females, Blacks, and the most educated
44
Most supported by wealthy, Southerners,
Republicans, conservatives Least supported the
poorest, Democrats, and liberals
45
Perceived fairness higher for Males,
Whites Perceived unfairness higher for Females,
Blacks
46
Perceived fairness higher for Republicans,
conservatives Perceived unfairness higher for
poorest, Democrats, liberals
47
Appropriate sentence?

• What is the most appropriate punishment for
  someone convicted of first-degree murder?
• Experts Citizens
• Death sentence 0 47
• LWOP 37 48
• Other 63 5
• n43 Gallup, 2005

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Appropriate sentence?
Source of chart Death Penalty Information Center
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Moratorium?

• Do you personally favor a temporary halt to
  executions (moratorium) in the United States
  while the practice of American capital punishment
  is studied?
• Experts Citizens
• Yes 79 58
• No 14 38
• Unsure 7 4
• N 44 NOS, 2007

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Abolition?

• Does capital punishment, as actually practiced in
  the United States, have problems that are serious
  enough to make it unacceptable as a
  government-sanctioned punishment (so that states
  should permanently stop executing convicted
  murderers)?
• Yes 84
• No 14
• Unsure 2
• n44

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So Why DoesCapital Punishment Persist?

• History/Culture of Violence
• Politics
• Critical Part of Punishment
• Public Support
• Crime Rates
• Religion
• Government Structure

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What is going to happen?

• New Jersey
• New York
• New Mexico
• North Carolina