Violent crime
Violent crime is a major problem in the United States. According to the ACLU, the violent crime rate rose sixty-one percent nationwide over the last two decades, making America one of the most dangerous countries in the industrialized world to live in. Americans are seven to ten times more likely to be murdered than the residents of most European countries and Japan are. Government's inability to make headway in the effort to solve this intractable problem, despite high-tech policing, stiffer sentencing, massive prison construction and the return of the death penalty in many states, has increasingly frustrated a fearful American public.
Politicians have used this fear and frustration over the past few decades to position themselves as "tough on crime". Every election brings more debates about the causes of violent crime, and the possible solutions, including most importantly, the death penalty. According to most polls, over sixty percent of Americans favor the death penalty. A politician who runs on a pro-death penalty platform is always on stable ground, whereas an anti-death penalty candidate, such as presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988, faces an almost insurmountable problem. This, despite mounting evidence that the death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime.
Capital Punishment
In 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty is not unconstitutional. Although some of the law imposing the administration and regulation of capital punishment might be in violation of the constitutional prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment," or other provisions of the Bill of Rights, the death penalty "per se" is not against the federal law. Six month later, in January 1977, the first execution under the new death penalty laws took place in the United States, ending the moratorium of capital punishment that began in 1967.
Since that time, there have been many studies and public opinion polls to determine the effectiveness of the death penalty. When a Gallup poll asked those who were pro-death penalty to explain the reason for their position, most of them said that the death sentence was an effective deterrent of crime, it was more economic than life sentences, it was a moral obligation to the victim's families, and it was necessary to bring justice to society. When the same poll asked those who were against the death penalty their reasons to be opposed to capital punishment, they stated that it was wrong to take a life, wrongful convictions may occur, it did not deter crime, it was unfairly applied, rehabilitation was possible and punishment should be left to God. About a year ago, while I was watching a popular television show, I heard a spokesman for Amnesty International claim that when people were told that the death penalty was more expensive than life in prison, a majority polled said they were opposed to the death penalty. I doubted his assertion, and this was the basis for my own survey for this paper.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis, which is based on my own beliefs, was that most Americans are pro-death penalty, even though they don't really believe that it is an effective deterrent to violent crime. Also, that those who are pro-death penalty will remain so, even if faced with the best arguments of anti-death penalty activists and told to assume the arguments were absolutely true.
Research Method
The research method was a survey of twenty-nine co-workers at the Sony manufacturing plant, who ranged in age from twenty-three to fifty-nine. The survey had three parts: The first part asked if the individual is pro- or anti-death penalty, and then asked if he or she believes that it is an effective deterrent to violent crime. The second part of the survey listed various arguments by anti-death penalty activists and asked the person taking the survey to assume each individual argument was an absolute proven fact, and whether the argument alone is enough to change their mind, assuming they are pro-death penalty. The final part of the survey asked the individual to assume all of the arguments were proven facts, and whether all arguments together were enough to change their mind, again assuming they are pro-death penalty.
Results
Of those who took the survey, 72.4 percent said they were pro-death penalty, 10.3 percent were neutral, and 17.2 percent were anti-death penalty. Of the people who were pro-death penalty, 81 percent believed it is an effective deterrent to violent crime. This proved part of my hypothesis wrong, but it was still interesting that not all who believe the death penalty is needed, believe that it achieves its stated purpose.
The second part of the survey had a much more varied and interesting result. There were four arguments presented:
First, that America is the only civilized country that still practices capital punishment. This was the least persuasive argument. Pro-death penalty support only fell to 65.5 percent.
Second, sending someone to their death costs the American taxpayers more than sending that person to life in prison. This argument was only marginally effective. A majority of people, 58.6 percent, was still pro-death penalty.
Third, that the death penalty is racist. A minority person convicted of the same crime as a white person has a better chance of receiving the death penalty. This was by far the most compelling argument. Only 41.4 percent would still consider themselves pro-death penalty. A surprising result is that this argument is more compelling to whites than to minorities. Of the twenty-nine people who responded to the survey, fifteen were white, while fourteen were of various ethnicities, which included African-American, Filipinos, Asians, and Hispanics.
The final argument was that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to violent crime. This proved to be a compelling argument. Only 48.6 percent of those surveyed still considered themselves pro-death penalty, while 24.1 percent were neutral, and 27.6 percent were anti-death penalty.
The last part of the survey asked the respondent to assume that all of the above arguments were true, and if true, should America have a death penalty. The difference in response to this question and the first one was minimal. Those that were pro-death penalty to start with remained so.
Findings
The survey had some weaknesses that provided some unexpected results. First, although my workplace is a pretty diverse group, those who responded weren't. Mostly, only white males responded. As stated before, over fifty percent were white while the rest consisted of various ethnicities. I had hoped to break down the survey for different races, but too few of any one race responded to really make an effective comparison. Also, only three females responded, making this a male-dominated survey.
The survey itself may have been too difficult for some to understand. This may help explain this interesting result: If only 41.4 percent of the people who took the survey are pro-death penalty when they are told to believe the argument that it is racist, how come 69 percent are pro-death penalty when told to believe all arguments? I had expected a different result - I thought the last question would have the lowest pro-death penalty percentage. A possible answer to this might be that the last question seemed less hypothetical. As individual arguments, each one might be persuasive in a world of make-believe, but the final question might have seemed to be the last chance for those taking the survey to say where they stand.
Conclusion
I feel that, for the most part, my hypothesis proved true. When told to believe all anti-death penalty arguments, a majority of Americans will still vote pro-death penalty. The question is why? There is plenty of evidence to prove all of the anti-death penalty arguments, and relatively few to prove that the death penalty works.
In informal interviews and conversations, the consensus seemed to be that the implementation of the death penalty is flawed -- not the punishment itself. For example, 41.4 percent of those who responded were pro-death penalty even when told to believe it is racist. Does that mean these people approve of a racist system? No. They feel that racism is a societal problem, and since juries consist of average citizens, racism creeps into the death penalty system. America is the only civilized country that has the death penalty? So what. This is America; we can have what we want. Death costs more than life? Again, this is seen as an implementation problem. It is the 14 to 17 years of appeals that cost money, not the lethal injection or the current of an electric chair. The death penalty doesn't deter violent crime? Some feel that if the death penalty were more swift in coming, and more likely, the danger would be more immediate to a would-be murderer, and would be more of a deterrent.
Another answer could be that some problems, such as violent crime, seem so big and unbeatable, frustration and anger come into play. Americans may be at a point where they don't care for arguments or statistics, or whether it works or not. It is a strong statement as to what we believe is right and wrong.
I think the final answer lies in retribution. It seems to be an ingrained American trait. For proof, look at what passes for popular entertainment in movies and television. The final emotional pay-off of almost every movie is to see the arch-villain die in some hideous fashion. Movies where the big, bad guy we really hate learns his lesson and reforms are extremely rare. It is a gut level reaction to see someone get what he or she deserves, and revenge is a powerful emotion.
By Matthew R. King
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