Social+Impacts

= Social Impacts = 

Deterrent effect; if something has a deterrent effect, it has the effect of preventing people from doing certain things. Studies show that the death penalty does have a deterrent effect. However, the weight placed upon it would be far greater, if the actual execution process was speedier. What the statistics indicate is states with the death penalty does not vary much from those states with the death penalty. **Deterrence: States Without the Death Penalty Have Had Consistently Lower Murder Rates** Credit given to [|DPIC] for data. Public opinion weighs in heavily with regards to politics. The opinion of the public can be highly influential on a law being passed or even a newly elected official taking office. Political views of capital punishment; in particular, the death penalty has been a constant issue of debate.
 * < **Year** ||= **[|1990] ** ||= **[|1991] ** ||= **[|1992] ** ||= **[|1993] ** ||= **[|1994] ** ||= **[|1995] ** ||= **[|1996] ** ||= **[|1997] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|1998] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|1999] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2000] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2001] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2002] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2003] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2004] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2005] ** ||= **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|2006] ** || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|**2007**] ||
 * < <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Murder Rate in** **Death Penalty** **States*** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.5 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.94 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.51 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.69 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.23 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">8.59 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">7.72 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">7.09 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">6.51 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.86 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.70 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.82 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.82 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.91 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.71 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.87 ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.83 ||
 * < <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Murder Rate in**
 * Non-death**
 * Penalty States** ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.16 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">9.27 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">8.63 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">8.81 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">7.88 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">6.78 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.37 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5.00 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.61 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.59 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.25 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.25 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.27 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.10 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.02 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.03 ||< <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.22 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">4.10 ||
 * < <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Percent**
 * Difference** ||= <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**4%** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 7% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 10% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 10% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 17% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 27% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 44% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 42% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**41%** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 28% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 35% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 37% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 36% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 44% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 42% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 46% ** ||= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">** 60% ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">42% ** ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;">Political Impact <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14pt;"> **

Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in the Clinton administration was quoted to say, “Capital punishment concretely diminishes America’s reputation as a human rights leader and hence its ability to lead a coalition of nations founded on moral principle” (Bae, 2007, para. 4).

** Cost Impact ** Capital cases are expensive because the trials tend to take longer, they typically require more lawyers, more costly expert witnesses and they are far more likely to lead to multiple appeals. Below are statistics to show how costs in Maryland's death penalty are affecting the state. The results show the costs are about three times more for death penalty cases than cases without death penalty. Democrat Governor Martin O'Malley was quoted to say, "there are better and cheaper ways to reduce crime" (Urbina, 2009).

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