The Catholic Church has supported capital punishment from the beginning, though some Catholics do not, and one of the arguments used pro and con is the deterrent impact.
Does applying the ultimate sanction in the appropriate situations actually deter others from committing similar capital crimes?
For several years I have been a supporter of one of the most effective legal advocacy organizations in the country—serving in the past as a member of their board of trustees—and their research has shown a clear deterrent impact.
An excellent publication from this organization— Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF)—addressing this issue comes from a statement by Kent Scheidegger, CJLF Legal Director, before the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission (October 24, 2006), and reprinted in Amy M. Keyzer, Ed., Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime? (Greenhaven Press 2007).
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.