henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (10/02/83)
Subject: Re: Value of Human Life vs. Value of Property
References: <537@qubix.UUCP>, <417@dciem.UUCP>
Actually, Martin, you can find statistics either way about the
deterrent value of capital punishment. The reality is more complex:
there is increasing agreement that statistical comparisons of large
populations are so beset by comparing-apples-and-oranges problems
that they are largely worthless.
Once studies with such dubious methodologies are discarded, we don't
even have a definite answer to the more general question of whether
punishment (of any kind) deters crime. The most thorough recent
examination of the evidence concluded (roughly): "The weight of
evidence does *suggest* that punishment deters crime (specifically,
that there is an inverse correlation between the probability of
being caught+punished and the crime rate -- severity of punishment
appears to be less important), but this conclusion should be inter-
preted cautiously because we do *not* have definite proof yet."
--
Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
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