The Death Penalty Does Not Make Louisiana Safer

Louisiana has had the death penalty for over 40 years, and at one time led the country in executions. Still, Louisiana has had the highest murder rate in the country for 29 straight years. Many law enforcement officials say the death penalty does not enhance public safety because: 1) The death penalty does not deter acts of violence. 2) Resources spent pursuing death sentences are unavailable to solve crimes and hold other criminals accountable. 3) The death penalty is divisive, damages community faith and trust in law enforcement, further undermining goals of public safety.

The Advocate: Death penalty deters crime? Facts and most criminologists beg to differ 

The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Acts Of Violence

• The Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, says that:

  • The certainty of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent than the punishment

  • Increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime

  • There is no proof that the death penalty deters crime

• 88% of the nation’s top criminologists believe the death penalty is not a deterrent.

• 99% of police chiefs ranked the death penalty last among effective ways to reduce violent crime.

Law Enforcement Know the Death Penalty Diverts Resources From More Effective Crime Prevention

“I have a duty as a former public official who dedicated over 30 years of my life to keeping the public safe to speak out about seriously flawed policies that purport to safeguard our communities without delivering what they promise. The death penalty is one such false promise. … We know that it is a very costly process with only an infinitesimal chance that the offender will actually be executed and is sometimes meted out against those with diminished culpability or who are innocent.”

– Gerald Galloway, former Chief of Police, Southern Pines North Carolina

“If the millions of dollars currently spent on the death penalty were spent on investigating unsolved homicides, modernizing crime labs and expanding effective violence prevention programs, our communities would be much safer.”

– Ray Samuels, former Police Chief of Newark, California

The Death Penalty is Divisive, Damages Community Faith & Trust in Law Enforcement  

The death penalty’s problems undermine community faith and trust in law enforcement. Law enforcement relies upon community faith and trust to report crime and work with police.

“Our criminal justice system makes two promises to its citizens: a fundamentally fair trial and an accurate result. If either of those two promises are not met, the criminal justice system itself falls into disrepute and will eventually be disregarded.”

– Justice Cochran of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Pursuing the Death Penalty to Secure Pleas Does Not Promote Public Safety  

There is no evidence that repeal of the death penalty reduces prosecutors’ ability to secure pleas. In fact, having capital punishment extends pre-trial proceedings and delays resolution.

Using the death penalty to secure pleas, increases the risk of executing individuals with mental illness and brain damage, young defendants, along with the innocent – all who are more likely to refuse pleas – while allowing the most savvy and culpable defendants to avoid capital punishment.

Many prosecutors question whether use of the death penalty as a bargaining chip is ethical. The Department of Justice prohibits the use of the death penalty to secure pleas.