Deterrence. In Gallup’s 1985 and 1986 surveys, respondents agreed by roughly 2-to-1 ratios (61 percent to 32 percent in 1985, 62 percent to 31 percent a year later), that capital punishment “lowers the murder rate.” By 1991 the percentages had shifted by about 10 points. By the 2000s, the 2-to-1 ratio had completely reversed: More than 60 percent rejected the deterrence claim. That’s a 30-point swing in 20 years. Harris polls show a similar trend. From the early 1980s to the 2000s, the percentage of respondents who believed that executions deterred murder fell nearly 20 points.
This is an empirical belief, not a moral one. There is an academic debate over whether executions affect the murder rate. The question is difficult to resolve in part because the number of executions is too small to provide a clear answer.
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