Does the Death Penalty Deter Homicides?

Author

Lorenzo A. Mendoza Valles

ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0001-7669-3753

Graduation Semester and Year

2018

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Department

Criminology and Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Jaya B. Davis

Abstract

This study assessed the long debated question over the death penalty’s deterrent effects. The majority of the empirical research on this topic is dated and does not display the current status of capital punishment. The death penalty argument is divided between criminologists who suggest that capital punishment holds no deterrent effects and criminologists who suggest that it does. This examination revisits the argument with an analysis of state panel data and executions between the years of 2000 and 2014. The findings suggest that the application of the death penalty does not deter would be offenders from committing homicide.

Keywords

Death penalty, Homicides, States, Deter, Deterrence

Disciplines

Criminology and Criminal Justice | Legal Studies | Social and Behavioral Sciences

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

Recommended Citation

Mendoza Valles, Lorenzo A., "Does the Death Penalty Deter Homicides?" (2018). Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses. 120.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/crcj_theses/120