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Publication Date
Spring 2025
Description
Violent crime and our nation’s efforts to reduce homicide rates, such as capital punishment, have always been divisive issues in criminology and political science. In an effort to contribute to the discourse surrounding these multifaceted issues, this study and its preliminary findings aim to investigate whether the implementation of the death penalty has had a statistically significant impact in deterring homicide throughout the United States.
This has involved an evaluation of quantitative data regarding capital punishment and homicide from 2010 to 2022 to gain an understanding of a possible relationship between capital punishment and homicide rates. We utilized various bivariate statistical techniques, including paired t-tests and independent samples t-tests, to assess the relationship between capital punishment and homicide rates.
Preliminary analyses indicate that capital punishment may have some deterrent effect on homicide rates. Since the statistical significances found may be marginal, it would be beneficial to conduct further research with continued statistical testing and additional controls. Our findings only highlight how necessary it is to draw more conclusions regarding the effectiveness of capital punishment.
Digital Publisher
Digital Commons
Collection
Showcase Presentations-2025
Format
Medium
Powerpoint