When it comes to capital punishment most people think of the death penalty. I don’t think people realize how many papers, books, and controversies there is over this topic. One of the many questions that arise when people think about capital punishment is how it affects crime, and more importantly, if we use the death penalty more effectively, it not only becomes a deterrent to crime, but also brings about a better society.When we use the death penalty and others learn from the mistakes of those receiving the death penalty then it is a successful deterrent. An article from the American Economic Review (quoted in the book The Death penalty, 1949) titled “The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death,” stated this fact perfectly. “For every execution that occurred in the United States in the Period 1933 – 1967, between seven and eight potential murders were avoided.” This fact states that people actually do learn from others’ mistakes. People have to fear something before it stops them from doing wrong again. There is nothing worse to fear than death, except for fear itself. An example of a successful deterrent is a mother with children. When one child does something wrong and the mother punishes that child in front of the others it stops the child and other children from doing the same thing. This sort of thing needs to happen in society a little more. We need to punish those who do wrong right away.When the death penalty is not used correctly and people continue to screw up in life and learn nothing from it, then the death penalty cannot be considered to be a deterrent. For most everyone, fear and death is the best deterrent. But then, “How can prisoners fear execution when the leading cause of death among death row prisoners is not lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, or poison gas, but natural causes?” (The Death Penalty, 1949) In the...
