Capital punishment has been a part of public debate in the United States for as long as I can remember. Supporters say it prevents crime; opponents claim it is cruel and unusual punishment. Social science has been unable to conclusively support or refute the theory that capital punishment deters crime (Schonebaum, 2002), reflecting the mixed emotions of many Americans on the subject. Historically, execution has been an important form of punishment for deviance from social norms and criminal behavior. (Schaefer, 2009, p. 175) The most powerful argument for the deterrent effect of the death penalty comes from the common sense idea that people fear death more than life in prison. In 1967, Thorsten Sellin argued that "the existence of the death penalty in law and in practice has no discernible deterrent effect on murder. In the mid-1970s, Isaac Ehrlich countered, after examining national homicide rates between 1930 and 1970, that each execution deterred between seven and eight homicides. Many researchers have attempted to replicate Ehrlich's results, but most of them have failed. (Schonebaum, 2002) According to the Illini for Life (Deterrence Factor) website, although the murder rate has remained relatively stable since 1976, the execution rate has skyrocketed. If so, why are crime rates in the United States relatively high? The US murder rate is 5.6 per 100,000 people, with a total population of 307 million, compared to the UK murder rate of 2.1 per 100,000 people and a population of 61 million citizens. (Intentional Murder Rate) Comparing the US gun ownership rate of 39% per household to the UK rate of 4.7% (gun ownership rate) provides insight into our rate increased crime...... middle of paper ..... .ional-death-penalty/page.do?id=1101074Iowa State University (July 27, 2006). Psychologists carry out the first study on desensitization to violence from video games. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 13, 2011 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060727162108.htm#Murder Rate (Intentional Homicides) - Country Rankings. (nd). Retrieved February 12, 2011 from http://www.photius.com/rankings/murder_rate_of_countries_2000-2004.htmlRollins, Kristin. (2005). Brain not fully developed until age 25. Retrieved February 12, 2011, from http://www.academic.marist.edu/mwwatch/fall05/science1.htm Schaefer, Richard T. (2009). Sociology: a brief introduction. (8th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Schonebaum, S.E. (2002). Introduction. Issue: Does capital punishment deter crime? Retrieved February 11, 2011 from http://www.enotes.com/does-capital-article/39152