Could Quicker Executions Deter Homicides? The Relationship between Celerity, Capital Punishment, and Murder

Could Quicker Executions Deter Homicides? The Relationship between Celerity, Capital Punishment, and Murder
Valerie L. Wright
May 2011

ISBN-13:  978-1-59332-460-5 / Hardcover
Dimensions:  5.5 x 8.5 / x, 179 pages

Price   $65.00

Description

Wright examines whether waits for executions impact the deterrent value of capital punishment. She also seeks to determine whether race has a role in producing or inhibiting deterrence. She asks whether blacks and whites are equally responsive to how quickly executions are carried out, as well as, whether the effect of celerity varies with the race of the executed. Longer waits on death row are not related to murders. Indeed, executions and having individuals on death row may be contributing to higher rates of homicides. In states and years where there are no executions, homicides among blacks are about thirty-six percent lower, and in states and years without anyone on death row white homicide rates are about forty percent lower

About the Author

Valerie Wright is a criminologist with a background in policy evaluation, government research, and working with adult and juvenile offenders. She is currently a research analyst in Washington, DC where she focuses on the implications of criminal justice sentencing policies. Her research interests include human trafficking, immigration policy, implementing evidenced-based practices, and women in the justice system. She earned her Ph.D. in sociology from The Ohio State University.