If you are wondering which are the states with highest murder rates despite death penalty, that can mean only one thing – you are also wondering if the death penalty serves its purpose. So, what is the purpose of execution, if there is any except for punishing the criminal? As everyone understands it – the main goal of the death penalty is not only in retribution, but also to deter further crimes, especially murders. The idea is: potential murderers and other criminals should be intimidated by the idea of paying for their crimes with the death penalty, and because of that they should stop themselves before committing some heinous act. We feel that it is only natural to ask the question – if someone is “sane enough” to commit an atrocity in the first place, would capital punishment really stop them? Do you really think that murderers would stop for a minute and value their intended deeds? All this doesn’t seem that plausible. (Maybe you would be interested in comparing this list of 10 states with highest murder rates despite death penalty with one that shows us which are the 10 states with death penalty and that use it the most.)
According to the Death Penalty Center’s many statistic data, as well as some FBI Studies, there does exist a difference in murder rates between the states with death penalty and non-death penalty states, but that difference only serves to prove that the capital punishment doesn’t achieve its goals (except for the obvious one – punishing criminals). Hence, it is not that unexpected that states with highest murder rates are usually the ones with the death penalty. You may wonder now – why is this unexpected, one thing is that capital punishment doesn’t deter murders, but it is a completely different thing to say that the death penalty in a way actually simulates crimes. We agree with this observation, but we feel that there is a strong connection between murder rates and the death penalty itself, because of the examples such as resuming capital punishment in Oklahoma. Namely, studies have shown that after 25 years with no death penalty, resuming it in Oklahoma has produced an increase in murder rates and the incidence of other massacres. Why is that so? We can have many philosophical disputes about this question, but we feel that the answer is hidden in the very essence of the death penalty itself. Let’s look at this logically – if our state allows execution for murder only in some specific cases, maybe then the crime itself is not at all that monstrous? We feel that by the legalization of the deed of murder, we take away a part of this crime’s weight.
But now, after sharing some of our thoughts on this matter with you, let’s get to the point – do you live in a state with the death penalty? Do you think that your state is somewhat safer because of capital punishment? Are you interested in putting that by to the test by finding out how does it rate when it comes to the number of murders? If you are ready, take a look and find out if your state is here, in the list of 10 states with highest murder rates despite death penalty (statistics are from 2013):
10. Oklahoma
Murder rate per 100, 000 people: 5,1
