{"id":49433,"date":"2021-02-22T20:51:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T20:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theadvocatespost.org\/?p=7800"},"modified":"2021-02-22T20:51:47","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T20:51:47","slug":"biennial-discussion-on-the-question-of-the-death-penalty-research-discredits-claims-that-the-death-penalty-deters-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/22\/biennial-discussion-on-the-question-of-the-death-penalty-research-discredits-claims-that-the-death-penalty-deters-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Biennial Discussion on the Question of the Death Penalty: Research Discredits Claims That the Death Penalty Deters Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In advance of the Biennial High-level Discussion on the Question of the Death Penalty during the upcoming 46th<\/sup> session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, The Advocates and partners submitted a joint written statement refuting the idea that the death penalty deters crime. The panel discussion at the United Nations, which takes place tomorrow (February 23, 2021) aims to expose human rights violations related to the application of the death penalty and discuss whether the death penalty is effective in deterring crime.  The Federation internationale de l\u2019action des chretiens pour l\u2019abolition de la torture (FIACAT) will give the joint oral statement related to the lack of deterrent effect of the death penalty on behalf of the coalition that submitted the written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proponents of the death penalty commonly justify capital punishment by claiming it is a stronger deterrent of crime compared to other punishments such as life imprisonment. This argument is based on a theory of choice in which potential offenders weigh the consequences of their actions before they commit a crime. Within this framework, a potential offender would think twice before committing a crime for fear of possible execution.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research on the\u00a0death penalty as a deterrent\u00a0tells a different story.\u00a0The\u00a0United States\u00a0National Research Council <\/a>(NRC)\u00a0identified two key deficiencies in\u00a0existing studies\u00a0on the topic. First,\u00a0though\u00a0non-capital punishments like life imprisonment are more commonly available than the death penalty in the United States, researchers do\u00a0not measure\u00a0the\u00a0likelihood that someone will be apprehended and charged with a punishment other than the death penalty.\u00a0This omission is important because research has correlated fear of apprehension with deterrence of crime.\u00a0Thus, existing studies do not determine whether the death penalty uniquely deters crime.\u00a0Second,\u00a0existing studies do not assess\u00a0potential offenders\u2019 perception of the\u00a0risk of execution before they commit a crime\u00a0because those perceptions are subjective and difficult to measure precisely.\u00a0These studies, therefore,\u00a0fail to gather precise data on the crux of the\u00a0argument\u00a0for the death penalty: that a would-be criminal\u00a0carefully calculates\u00a0the risks of committing a crime\u00a0based on his perception of the\u00a0consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some data gathered in the United States\u00a0correlate the\u00a0abolition of the death penalty\u00a0with\u00a0decreased\u00a0crime rates.\u00a0For instance,\u00a0state-level data\u00a0consistently\u00a0show lower murder rates in states that have abolished the death penalty compared to states\u00a0where the death penalty is available.\u00a0The\u00a0Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC)\u00a0conducted another analysis<\/a> of\u00a0murder\u00a0rates\u00a0in the United States between\u00a01987 and\u00a02015, finding\u00a0states that had abolished the death penalty\u00a0saw lower murder rates of law enforcement officers.\u00a0As\u00a0The\u00a0Advocates and its partners pointed out in their\u00a0written statement, this analysis\u00a0\u201cexposes the unfortunate reality that\u00a0the death penalty\u00a0and justifications for it are\u00a0more politically driven than\u00a0factually supported.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research has also shown that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent for crimes other than murder, like crimes of violence against women. In fact, imposing the death penalty for rape can be more harmful to victims because it increases barriers to reporting and perpetuates a stereotypical perception of women. Read more about the death penalty and violence against women in our December blog post<\/a> or watch our panel discussion<\/a> on the death penalty for rape in Bangladesh to learn more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Advocates and our partners conclude in our written statement that effective law enforcement, rather than severe punishment, is more effective in preventing crime. <\/strong> We also offer five recommendations to countries that retain the death penalty, including: 1) Halt executions 2) Take immediate steps to establish de jure moratoriums on executions, and 3) Educate the public and policymakers about the research and evidence showing the death penalty does not deter crime.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Advocates for Human Rights, Parliamentarians for Global Action, the International Federation of ACAT (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture), Reprieve, and the International Union of Lawyers will make a joint oral statement during the biennial discussion at the UN Human Rights Council on February 23, 2021. You can watch on UN Web Live TV<\/a>, either live from 9-11am CET, or on demand.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By: Elizabeth Lacy, Program Associate for the International Justice and Women\u2019s Human Rights Programs at The Advocates for Human Rights<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Advocates for Human Rights is a nonprofit organization dedicated to implementing international human rights standards to promote civil society and reinforce the rule of law.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curious about volunteering? Please reach out<\/a>. The Advocates for Human Rights has an opportunity for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eager to see change? Give<\/a> to our mission, our vision, our work. Your gift matters.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on The Advocates Post<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In\u00a0advance\u00a0of the Biennial High-level Discussion\u00a0on the Question of the Death Penalty during the upcoming 46th\u00a0session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, The Advocates and partners submitted a joint written statement\u00a0refuting the idea that\u00a0the\u00a0death penalty deters crime.\u00a0The panel discussion at the United Nations, which takes place tomorrow (February 23, 2021) aims to expose human rights \u2026 Continue reading Biennial Discussion on the Question of the Death Penalty: Research Discredits Claims That the Death Penalty Deters\u00a0Crime<\/span> \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1609,1608,1597,1680,111],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/501"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49434,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49433\/revisions\/49434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}