Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> StandDown Texas Project

Criminal Law

: StandDown Texas Project

A Federal Capital Case in New Jersey & the Deterrence Argument

By standdown

Does the death penalty deter?  Lawmakers opposing repeal measures in legislatures across the country this year often expressed their belief that the death penalty is a deterrent.Cass Sunstein and Justin Wolfers were quite clear in their OpEd,"The Murky Evidence for and Against Deterrence," that appeared in the June 30, 2008 issue of the Washington Post, and noted here.In short, the best reading of the accumulated data is that they do not establish a deterrent effect of the death penalty.That didn't stop a New Mexico district attorney from misstating Sunstein's view during the repeal debate in that state earlier this year.For those who want to dive deep into the statistics and empirical studies, there is no better authority on deterrence than Columbia Law prof Jeffrey Fagan...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on May 22, 2009 (boomark / email).