Murder and capital punishment are not opposites that cancel one another, but similars that breed their kind. Studies done have shown that, as the number of executions increase, so does the murder rate. Georgia, which reinstated capital punishment in 1983, saw an increase of 20 percent in their murder rate in the following year, also a year in which the national homicide rate fell 5 percent. When Florida started executing prisoners again in 1979, the 1980 murder rate went up 28 percent, and 1981 and 1982 were the highest in recent history. These incidents show, as Michael Godfried put it, that the state may be, tragically, leading by example.
Discrimination is also a major issue in sentencings and executions.
Poor people cannot afford lawyers, and their defense is not as good. They are convicted and given the death penalty more often. There are also issues of racial discrimination involved. A study done by the New Jersey Supreme Court shows there is strong evidence of racial bias in jurors. They are more likely to give the death penalties to minorities than whites.