NCJ Number
150082
Date Published
1991
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article examines the effect of executions on homicides in Florida during the period between 1979 and 1987; daily homicide data for the State are used as well as a deterrability index that divides murders in the data set into three categories of those likely to decrease (deterrable), those likely to increase (brutalizable), and those likely to remain unchanged.
Abstract
Analyses included interrupted time series and an autoregressive integrated moving averages (ARIMA) analysis. The findings produced mixed results, but generally showed that executions have no effect on homicide rates. The study did find that the pattern of homicides following executions is an erratic and fluctuating pattern that could not be detected if only weekly or other periodic frequencies are reported. The analyses showed that the pattern and frequencies of deterrable homicides increased following executions, but not at a significant rate. There is some evidence that those homicides classified as brutalizable were deterred more than those classified as deterrable. 4 tables, 8 notes, and 32 references