Layson of the University of North Carolina made a significant conclusion about deterrence. His conclusion was that eighteen murders are deterred in result to on execution. According to Laysons studies, if correct, somewhere around 125,000 murders have been deterred due to the threat of the death penalty as punishment (McCuen, 1997). McComb of the Supreme Court of California discovered fourteen examples in the police department of defendants whom, in explaining their refusal to carry a weapon or kill. This pointed to the fear of the death penalty. This is great evidence supporting that people are truly deterred by the presence of the death penalty. The death penalty is a definate deterrent to crime, however it is not effective enough. The delayed punishment received is not paired closely enough to the crime. Therefore, the consequence of the death penalty doesnt always seem associated with the criminal act because of the long time before the execution takes place. The only way to condition criminal to view execution as a punishment to their behavior is by having it happen immediately after conviction and sentencing. This comes from the idea of classical conditioning and negative reinforcements (Meyers, 1998). Problems The process of convicting a felon and sentencing them to death is very long. With the conviction and sentencing always comes appeal by the convicted. The constant appeals can lead to years in court, which costs millions of dollars. This is where the problem with a convict not seeing the death penalty as a punishment for their actions. The cost keeping a person on death row and the many years, sometimes as many is twenty-five is way too high. With new methods of presenting evidence of D.N.A. the process needs to be sped up to make the death penalty to be a more effective deterrent. An Ending Thought As American citizens were are all born with certain rights. With these rights however, come responsibilities. When a person tak...
