The Death Penalty was first abolished in Michigan, 1847, since then its role as a deterrent of murder began to be widely questioned by sociologists. 88.2% of the Law and Society Association claim states in America without The Death Penalty kept their murder rates lower than states which enforce the punishment.[1]. Based on the work of deterrence experts Bailey and Peterson- capital punishment is no more effective than long prison sentences, namely in Idaho, murder rates halved from 1977 at 6 murders per 100,000 citizens (when the death penalty was permitted) to 1993 with 3 murders per 100,000 citizens when the death penalty had been abolished. [2] Furthermore, official statistics released by the Death Penalty Information Centre reinforce the argument that The Death Penalty is not a deterrent against murder. Upon analysing their 2016 data it is evident states with the death penalty (such as Louisiana) had higher murder rates than those without such as Illinois. With Louisiana’s 2016 murder rate at 12 murders, compared to Illinois at approximately 8 murders. [3] With murder rates in states with the Death Penalty staying below those with the punishment, it is evident the death penalty is not a deterrent against murder. Aside from the experts, the general public has also been scrutinised as to whether they believe the death penalty has had a deterring effect away from murder. In a mailed questionnaire to 500 recipients, researchers Ellsworth and Ross asked whether the public agreed the Death Penalty acted as a homicide deterrent, only 3.1% of those asked said ‘we need capital punishment to show criminals we really mean business about wiping out crime’. [4] This demonstrates there are other valid ways to show murderers their behaviour will not be tolerated without killing them. References: [1] Amnesty International, ' A Clear Scientific Consensus that The Death Penalty Does Not Deter' (June 2009) https://www.amnestyusa.org/a-clear-scientific-consensus-that-the-deathpenaltydoesnotdeter/#:~:text=Scientists%20agree%2C%20by%20an%20overwhelming,penalty%20has%20no%20deterrent%20effect.&text=States%20without%20the%20death%20penalty,those%20that%20retain%20capital%20punishment [2]Hugo Bedau, The Death Penalty in America (Oxford, 1998) https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=M84JCAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA135&dq=Bailey+and+Peterson+death+penalty+&ots=vvEoXc6e_u&sig=lynFzZZZgbEAI8zshDTueu0BRQA#v=onepage&q=Bailey%20and%20Peterson%20death%20penalty&f=false [3] Death Penalty Information Centre , 'Murder Rate of Death Penalty States Compared to Non-Death Penalty States' https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/murder-rates/murder-rate-of-death-penalty-states-compared-to-non-death-penalty-states [4]Radelet and Akers, 'Deterrence and The Death Penalty: The Views of the Experts' The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol 87 No1 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1143970?casa_token=-JQt-c2ejswAAAAA%3A9wDpli0mkejfoyy9iN-H5XOgzgMu4WNjJVpM7zjOcFrJ2Ajqr1jtqhwGCzptmFv_C7IOZMhIPtmCPmsU6Ga5dSvy2ctiRLaaepkaYxPKn5Q2vOw&seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents Further reading: https://www.jstor.org/stable/223436?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=Death+penalty+deterrent&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DDeath%2Bpenalty%2Bdeterrent%26filter%3D&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_SYC-5187_SYC-5188%2Ftest&refreqid=fastly-default%3A2aeb358caddad14c78f923ef00650627&seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents

Extensive research and crime statistics indicate that the death penalty does not effectively deter murder any more than life imprisonment. Many factors influence crime rates, including social, economic, and psychological elements, which capital punishment does not address. Countries and states without the death penalty often have similar or lower murder rates compared to those with it. Thus, the deterrent effect of the death penalty is questionable and insufficient justification for its use.