The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

I will refute my opponent's round 2 arguments in this round. I. Deterrence Actually, criminals "rationally maximize their own self-interest (utility) subject to constraints (prices, incomes) that they face in the marketplace and elsewhere. " Individuals make their decisions based on the net costs and benefits of each alternative. Thus, deterrence theory provides a basis for analyzing how capital punishment should influence murder rates. Over the years, several studies have demonstrated a link between executions and decreases in murder rates. In fact, studies done in recent years, using sophisticated panel data methods, consistently demonstrate a strong link between executions and reduced murder incidents. [1][2] The rigorous examination of the deterrent effect of capital punishment began with research in the 1970s by Isaac Ehrlich, currently a University of Buffalo Distinguished Professor of Economics. mProfessor Ehrlich's research found that the death penalty had a strong deterrent effect. additional research by Professor Ehrlich reconfirmed his original findings. In addition, research by Professor Stephen K. Layson of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro strongly reconfirmed Ehrlich's previous findings. [2][3][4][5] Professors H. Naci Mocan and R. Kaj Gittings of the University of Colorado at Denver have published two studies confirming the deterrent effect of capital punishment. The first study used state-level data from 1977 to 1997 to analyze the influence of executions, commutations, and removals from death row on the incidence of murder. For each additional execution, on average, about five murders were deterred. Alternatively, for each additional commutation, on average, five additional murders resulted. A removal from death row by either state courts or the U. S. Supreme Court is associated with an increase of one additional murder. Addressing criticism of their work, professors Mocan and Gittings conducted additional analyses and found that their original findings provided robust support for the deterrent effect of capital punishment. [2][6][7][8] The death penalty has a strong deterrent effect and saves lives. II. Saving Lives Even though the death penalty takes lives, on balance, it saves more than it condemns. Overall, most criminals do understand the cost/benefit analysis of committing a murder, even in cases of revenge, and most are deterred more by the death penalty than by LWOP. Numerous studies published over the past few years, using panel data sets and sophisticated social science techniques, are demonstrating that the death penalty saves lives. I already provided several studies that show that for each execution, more lives are saved than are taken, indicating an overall net benefit. As I mentioned in my first argument, if each execution is saving lives, the harms of capital punishment would have to be very great to justify its abolition, far greater than most critics have heretofore alleged. [2][9][10] III. Cost I ask my opponent to look at the chart in source 11 for the nitty gritty cost analysis. If the multiple layers of appeal are pursued in an ethical, and fiscally responsible manner , execution is less costly than warehousing a murderer for life. Any increased cost is caused by death-penalty opponents. [12] The death penalty can also be cheaper than it currently is, unlike LWOP, which is always increasing. Death penalty opponents created the cost problem by implementing laws that made it harder for the death penalty to be administered, increasing the time until execution, and thus costs. Thanks again to my opponent for the debate, and remember that your round 4 is a bye round for you, so please no arguments or rebuttals. Sources [1]: Paul H. Rubin, "The Economics of Crime," in Ralph Andreano and John J. Siefried, eds. , The Economics of Crime (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1980), p. 13. Originally published in American Economic Review, Vol. 28, No. 4 (1978), pp. 38-43. [2]: . http://www.heritage.org... [3]: Isaac Ehrlich, "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death," American Economic Review, Vol. 65, No. 3 (1975), pp. 397-417, and Isaac Ehrlich, "Capital Punishment and Deterrence: Some Further Thoughts and Additional Evidence," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 85 (August, 1977), pp. 741-788. [4]: Isaac Ehrlich, "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: Reply," American Economic Review, Vol. 67, No. 3 (June 1977), pp. 452-458, and Isaac Ehrlich, "Sensitivity Analysis of the Deterrence Hypothesis: Let's Keep the Econ in Econometric," Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 42 (April 1999), pp. 455-487. [5]: Stephen K. Layson, "Homicide and Deterrence: A Reexamination of the United States Time-Series Evidence," Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 52, No. 1 (1985), pp. 68-89. [6]: H. Naci Mocan and R. Kaj Gittings, "Getting Off Death Row: Commuted Sentences and the Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment," Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 46, No. 2 (2003), pp. 453-478. [7]: John Donahue III and Justin Wolfers, "Uses and Abuses of Empirical Evidence in the Death Penalty Debate," Stanford Law Review, Vol. 58, No. 3 (2006), pp. 791-846. [8]: Naci H. Mocan and R. Kaj Gittings, "The Impact of Incentives on Human Behavior: Can We Make It Disappear? The Case of the Death Penalty," National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 12631, October 2006. [9]: The panel data sets used in these recent studies consist of observations of the 50 states or all United States counties over many time periods, usually years and months. Panel data sets allow social scientists to separate the effect of capital punishment from other socioeconomic and policy factors to ascertain the influence of executions on murder incidents. [10]: Cass R. Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule, "Is Capital Punishment Morally Required? The Relevance of Life-Life Tradeoffs," AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies Working Paper No. 05-06, March 2005, p. 42. [11]: . http://www.prodeathpenalty.com... [12]: . http://www.fed-soc.org...