criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

, brutalization refers to a hypothesized cause-and-effect relationship between

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

s and an increase in the

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

rate. This hypothesis proposes this relationship occurs because executions diminish the public's respect for life. Such an effect represents the opposite of a deterrent effect.

Support

A 1980 study found that in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, there were an average of two additional homicides in the month after an execution, consistent with a brutalization effect. A 1994 study found evidence of this effect in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, but only in relation to stranger homicides, while a 1998 study found strong evidence to support a hypothesis relating to the total number of homicides in Oklahoma.

Opposition

A 1978 study found no evidence to support the brutalization hypothesis. A 1994 study also found no evidence to support it with regards to overall homicides in Oklahoma.

References

Capital punishment Penology Criminology {{Human-rights-stub, state=expanded