Since the country was formed in the 1600s, some 16,000 Americans have been put to death for crimes deemed punishable by death (Ford 1). Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, has had a long history around the world even before it was implemented in the United States. Capital punishment has been around since the beginning of recorded history. Today in America, eighteen states have banned the death penalty, while the other thirty two have chosen to implement tighter regulations on it (Richards and Smith 1). Along with the practice of capital punishment comes controversy. Some people think that capital punishment is righteous and should be kept, while others think that the death penalty should be outlawed in all American states.
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There is absolutely no evidence, out of thousands of statistics, that proves that capital punishment deters crime. In fact, the opposite is true. Studies show that the crime rates in states without the death penalty are lower than crime rates in states with capital punishment (Issitt and Newton 4). Additionally, psychiatrists say that capital punishment may further entice psychopaths to commit crimes because they can feel powerful from testing the limits of the law and its highest penalty (Cuomo 2). In “The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Crime” by Jack Weil, an anecdote is given that further proves that killers are more tempted by the death penalty. In the Victorian Era most executions were public hangings that took place to punish criminals and that could sometimes attract crowds of around 100,000. Because hangings were not always effective on the first try, many of the condemned were strangled until they died. A chaplain interviewed 167 convicts set to be executed, and only three stated that they had not observed one of these gruesome public hangings. This shows that even though criminals are made aware of the threat of death, they still choose to carry out their crimes. Another thing to consider is the fact that criminals are also more afraid of getting caught than the consequences that will come after the fact
There is absolutely no evidence, out of thousands of statistics, that proves that capital punishment deters crime. In fact, the opposite is true. Studies show that the crime rates in states without the death penalty are lower than crime rates in states with capital punishment (Issitt and Newton 4). Additionally, psychiatrists say that capital punishment may further entice psychopaths to commit crimes because they can feel powerful from testing the limits of the law and its highest penalty (Cuomo 2). In “The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Crime” by Jack Weil, an anecdote is given that further proves that killers are more tempted by the death penalty. In the Victorian Era most executions were public hangings that took place to punish criminals and that could sometimes attract crowds of around 100,000. Because hangings were not always effective on the first try, many of the condemned were strangled until they died. A chaplain interviewed 167 convicts set to be executed, and only three stated that they had not observed one of these gruesome public hangings. This shows that even though criminals are made aware of the threat of death, they still choose to carry out their crimes. Another thing to consider is the fact that criminals are also more afraid of getting caught than the consequences that will come after the fact