NCJ Number
136746
Journal
Crime and Delinquency Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1992) Pages: 272-279
Date Published
1992
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A survey of 307 inmates examined attitudes toward capital punishment.
Abstract
The findings showed that many respondents favored capital punishment. Interestingly, the more violent offenders were more steadfast in their support of the death penalty, though usually only for some crimes when applied to others, but not to their own criminal activity. The respondents did not view capital punishment as an effective deterrent and implied that its use reinforced their own violent behavior. While incarcerated offenders felt as strongly as other Americans about capital punishment, they often viewed it as a way of "getting rid of the low life." Future studies should be conducted with violent offenders to evaluate the potential of various punishments to deter crime. 1 note and 17 references (Author abstract modified)