Deterrence and brutalization: The dual effects of executions

摘要: On April 21, 1992, California received wide national attention when Robert Alton Harris was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin. Harris's execution marked a reintroduction of death penalty after 25-year moratorium. We use weekly time-series data on level and type criminal homicide incidents state from 1989 through 1995 to exploit quasi-experimental qualities this naturally occurring “experiment,” assess impact incidence homicide. As several recent studies, we disaggregate homicides into forms murder highly likely be affected by capital punishment: felony-murders nonstrangers, for which predict deterrent effect, argument-murders strangers, brutalization effect. basis an autoregressive integrated moving-average approach analysis, find (as predicted) significant decline nonstranger increas...