“Is The Death Penalty Effective”

Introduction

The death penalty has long been an issue that divides Americans along racial lines. Since the American Institute of Public Opinion (the producer of the Gallup polls) first began systematically recording death penalty opinion in 1936, racial differences in opinion have been evident. Indeed, during the first half-century of Gallup death penalty opinion polling, between 1936 and 1986, racial differences in death penalty opinion were greater than any other demographic characteristic, and that remains the case in most years since 1986.

In the 38 Gallup polls with data on race that have been conducted between 1936 and 2006, the percentage of Whites who have favored the death penalty has always exceeded the percentage of Blacks who have favored it; and the percentage of Blacks who have opposed the death penalty has always exceeded the percentage of Whites who have opposed it. Over the 70-year period, an average of 67% of Whites have favored the death penalty compared to 44% of Blacks, and 46% of Blacks have opposed the death penalty compared to 26% of Whites (Arthur, 172).

In every polling year during this period, except 1953, 1965, and 1999, the percentage of Blacks undecided about the death penalty has surpassed or equaled the percentage of Whites who have been undecided about it. About 3 percentage points more Blacks than Whites, on average, have responded “no opinion” or “don't know” to a question about the death penalty.

Discussion and Analysis

Discussion of the death penalty has centered on several topics including the costs of maintaining it and whether or not capital punishment is a deterrent to homicide. The research on costs suggests that capital punishment is far more expensive than life without parole, due in part to the expenses related to trials as well as with the cost of the appeals process. The “death is different” doctrine requires more intensive investigation by both prosecutors and defense attorneys, although prosecutors generally have more funding available. Research on the deterrence aspect is mixed, but most studies indicate that the death penalty is not a general deterrent (Baumer, 844).

Beginning with the work of Cesare Beccaria, many criminologists have argued that instead of being a deterrent the death penalty actually has a brutalizing effect, increasing violence through example. Ernest Van den Haag, one of the few supporters of a deterrence argument, has suggested that since the death penalty is the most severe punishment ...