|
|
Article: Series of studies reopens debate on death penalty: Capital punishment acts as a deterrent to murder, data reveal
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- June 11, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Anti-death penalty forces have gained momentum in the past few
years, with a moratorium in Illinois, court disputes over lethal
injection in more than a half-dozen states and progress toward
outright abolishment in New Jersey.
The steady drumbeat of DNA exonerations - pointing out flaws in
the justice system - has weighed against capital punishment. The
moral opposition is loud, too, echoed in Europe and the rest of the
industrialized world, where all but a few countries banned executions
years ago.
What gets little notice, however, is a series of academic studies
over the last half-dozen years that claim to settle a once hotly
debated argument - whether the death penalty acts as a deterrent ...