The Deterrent Effect of Death Penalty Eligibility: Evidence from the Adoption of Child Murder Eligibility Factors

Authors

Michael D. Frakes, Duke Law SchoolFollow
Matthew Harding

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Keywords

death penalty, deterrence, capital punishment

Abstract

We draw on within-state variations in the reach of capital punishment statutes between 1977 and 2004 to identify the deterrent effects associated with capital eligibility. Focusing on the most prevalent eligibility expansion, we estimate that the adoption of a child murder factor is associated with an approximately 20% reduction in the homicide rate of youth victims. Eligibility expansions may enhance deterrence by (1) paving the way for more executions and (2) providing prosecutors with greater leverage to secure enhanced non-capital sentences. While executions themselves are rare, this latter channel is likely to be triggered fairly regularly, providing a reasonable basis for a general deterrent response.

Comments

Author pre-print draft.

Citation

Michael D. Frakes & Matthew Harding, The Deterrent Effect of Death Penalty Eligibility: Evidence from the Adoption of Child Murder Eligibility Factors, 11 American Law & Economics Review 451-497 (2009)