A Research Proposal on Capital Punishment

Glenn Fellows in the Winter 2010 class are now beginning to think about the policy papers that they will be submitting at the end of the quarter. Accordingly, they are reading Eugene Bardach’s A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Policy Solving, which argues that in the process of defining one's research problem (step one) it is often helpful “to think in terms of deficit and excess” (pp. 1-2). It is also a good idea to steer clear of grand moral pronouncements.

I have provided the fellows with a one-page worksheet that is designed to walk them through the problem-defining process. Here is a sample of how it might work:

On the topic of capital punishment, the following question arises: Setting aside for the moment important questions about the morality and the constitutionality of the death penalty, does it represent a practical approach to the punishment of persons who have committed heinous crimes?

This question has several plausible answers. For example, some scholars have claimed that the prospect of lifetime incarceration may be every bit as effective as the death penalty as a deterrent to violent crime (which would argue for abolition of the death penalty).

It is also possible to argue that, quite apart from the issue of deterrence, the costs associated with lifetime incarceration impose an unreasonably heavy burden on American taxpayers (arguing in favor of the death penalty).

My own answer to the question is as follows: There is reason to think that capital punishment, whatever its merits, may not be as cost-effective (i.e., practical) as one might think.

My thesis is supported by the following piece of evidence: A recent policy study has demonstrated that cases in which prosecutors seek the death penalty are far more expensive (about $3 million, on average) to litigate (including both prison and adjudication costs) than death-penalty-eligible cases in which the death penalty is not, for whatever reason, sought by prosecutors (about $1.1 million, on average). Reference: John Roman, et al, “The Cost of the Death Penalty in Maryland” (Washington: Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute, 2008). Here's a link: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/CostsDPMaryland.pdf

My thesis is significant because it modifies and/or adds to current thinking on this topic in the following way: If it can be shown that prosecution and incarceration costs associated with capital punishment are significantly higher than those associated with lifetime incarceration, then capital punishment should never be adopted or reinstated with a view to reducing the burden on American taxpayers (though of course the death penalty might still be justifiable on other grounds).