Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate

For the first time in a generation, the question of whether the death penalty deters murders has captured the attention of scholars in law and economics, setting off an intense new debate about one of the central justifications for capital punishment. According to roughly a dozen recent studies by economists, executions save lives. For each inmate put to death, the studies say, 3 to 18 murders are prevented. The studies have been the subject of sharp criticism, much of it from legal scholars who say that the theories of economists do not apply to the violent world of crime and punishment. Critics of the studies say they are based on faulty premises, insufficient data and flawed methodologies.

Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate www10.nytimes.com Sun, Nov 18, 2007