Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/14-7955_aplc.pdf
Page Number: 75.0

Cite as:  576 U. S. ____ (2015) 

25 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

Institute  of  Medicine)  reviewed  30  years  of  empirical
evidence  and  concluded  that  it  was  insufficient  to  estab­
lish  a  deterrent  effect  and  thus  should  “not  be  used  to 
inform”  discussion  about  the  deterrent  value  of  the  death 
penalty.  National  Research  Council,  Deterrence  and  the 
Death Penalty 2 (D. Nagin & J. Pepper eds. 2012); accord, 
Baze  v. Rees, 553 U. S. 35, 79 (2008) (Stevens, J., concur­
ring  in  judgment)  (“Despite  30  years  of  empirical  re- 
search in the area, there remains no reliable statistical evi
dence  that  capital  punishment  in  fact  deters  potential
offenders”).

I  recognize  that  a  “lack  of  evidence”  for  a  proposition 
does not prove the contrary.  See Ring, supra, at 615 (one 
might  believe  the  studies  “inconclusive”).    But  suppose 
that we add to these studies the fact that, today, very few 
of those sentenced to death are actually executed, and that 
even  those  executions  occur,  on  average,  after  nearly  two 
decades  on  death  row.   DPIC, Execution List 2014, supra. 
Then, does it still seem likely that the death penalty has a 
significant deterrent effect?

Consider,  for  example,  what  actually  happened  to  the
183  inmates  sentenced  to  death  in  1978.    As  of  2013  (35
years  later),  38  (or  21%  of  them)  had  been  executed;  132 
(or 72%) had had their convictions or sentences overturned 
or commuted; and 7 (or 4%) had died of other (likely natu­
ral) causes.  Six (or 3%) remained on death row.  BJS 2013 
Stats, at 19 (Table 16).

The  example  illustrates  a  general  trend.  Of  the  8,466 
inmates  under  a  death  sentence  at  some  point  between
1973 and 2013, 16% were executed, 42% had their convic­
tions  or  sentences  overturned  or  commuted,  and  6%  died 
by  other  causes;  the  remainder  (35%)  are  still  on  death 
row.  Id.,  at  20  (Table  17);  see  also  Baumgartner  &  Die­
trich,  Most  Death  Penalty  Sentences  Are  Overturned: 
Here’s Why That Matters, Washington Post Blog, Monkey 
Cage, Mar. 17, 2015 (similar). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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