Death penalty opponents are right to say that the death penalty doesn’t deter murderers, but not in the way they mean. When the odds of getting the death penalty after being convicted of some criminal homicide are perhaps 1 in 100 (given that 50,000 criminal homicides have occurred in TX during the time span it took to execute 500 murderers), it’s not surprising few criminals pay much attention to the prospect of being executed.
The death penalty doesn’t deter murderers.
Apparently twenty year sentences don’t deter murderers either
Even life sentences don’t deter murderers as some kill other prisoners.
It’s not about deference; it’s about social sanitation.