That hasn't panned out with the death penalty (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/04/30/there...). People don't go "gee, I wonder what the typical criminal penalty for this action is..." They just do it, especially kids with immature brains and only partially developed impulse control.
There's a lot of evidence that once a punishment is big enough, it makes no difference on deterence, but that's very different from saying punishment vs no punishment is the same.
This may be true for the death penalty. But it certainly doesn't generalize to all punishment.
Are you saying that punishing bad behavior consistently won't deter criminals? That flies in the face of common sense that I don't believe claims of "no evidence".
Most children do have a concept of consequence. They certainly understand that calling police will be traced back to them. I was a kid once, they're not as stupid as you think.
> Are you saying that punishing bad behavior consistently won't deter criminals?
I'm saying teenagers are frequently fucking idiots, and that sending them into the American prison system is a "solution" that causes even more damage.
When I was a kid, sending kids to "jail" for the night was a great way to scare the hell outta them in the name of making sure they understood the gravity of the mistake they'd made crossing a certain line. Where I grew up, the police were always in cahoots with the parents to ensure that the kid got a right good unforgettable lesson outta the experience. Sounds like the sorta thing these stupid kids need to me.
I agree with the caveat over the last ~30yr we've normalized calling law enforcement over the most petty things. When teachers threaten to call the police when kids get in a fist fight it substantially waters down the gravity of calling the police for something that actually matters.
Yeah, it's really sad the direction it's all taken. Still not sure how exactly it could be improved (or if it's even possible anymore; it may already be too far gone).
Many of those who commit crimes that could result in the death penalty are either in a high risk scenario (e.g., drug dealers) who face worse fates on a day-to-day basis.
It’s understandable why the death penalty isn’t such a harsh deterrent for everyone.
Look on a small scale I could afford speeding tickets easily but I can’t afford to have my license suspended after x number of them so I don’t speed very much.
> Drivers who receive speeding citations are at increased risk of receiving subsequent speeding citations, suggesting that speeding citations have limited effects on deterrence in the context of the current traffic enforcement system.
