NCJ Number
84889
Date Published
1981
Length
99 pages
Annotation
Recommendations on capital punishment are presented from a conference on the subject attended by 60 commentators on the issue, with the content of the recommendations based on three papers studied by conferees.
Abstract
One of the papers studied by conferees explores 'caprice and racism in the death penalty.' The procedures by which the death penalty is imposed are identified as being vulnerable to caprice and the subjectivities and biases of persons conditioned by a society that has been largely racist through most of its history. The paper argues that the power to inflict death on citizens should not be entrusted to human institutions of justice, which are subject to error, bias, and arbitrariness. Another paper presents a moral basis for capital punishment. It argues that severity of punishment impresses upon citizens the abhorrence with which society views various behaviors. Thus, capital punishment is important as that ultimate punishment which society reserves for the most heinous crimes for which no other sanction properly expresses society's outrage and moral indignation. The final paper reviews research that has examined the deterrence effectiveness of capital punishment and concludes that there is little reason to believe that the availability of capital punishment is a substantial and unique deterrent. Further, it argues that human error, bias, and caprice in the criminal justice system undermine any appeal for capital punishment from a retributivist perspective. The recommendations accepted by the conferees generally favor the abolition of capital punishment. Footnotes and references accompany each paper.