the death penalty as is will never be a deterent
b/c it takes too long to put them to death
and the people who commit heinous crimes are already prepared to die, nothing to lose really... or past the point where they can mentally see the problems with consequences
i now get 20 years of being taken care of, IF i get caught
public hangings didn't really deter the criminals.
It's kind of like legalizing pot. If illegal, most people won't do it. The ones who don't care about the law will anyway.
but after legal, now we have a few more willing to try. b/c no consequences with law.
Murder is against the law. death penalty or not... criminals dont' care about law. the death penalty may be enough to calm a rational person down, but people willing to put themselves in this position are usually not rational .