1. Capital Punishment 1
Running Header: Analysis Essay: The Relationship of Criminology to Criminal Justice in
Regards to Capital Punishment
Analysis Essay: The Relationship of Criminology to Criminal Justice In
Regards to Capital Punishment
Elizabeth Hall
Kaplan University
Criminology CJ102
Gregory Matoesian
January 26, 2010
Abstract
Criminology is the study of crime, through data collected by the Criminal Justice System in order to
determine the character, scope, and source of crime for the purposes of understanding crime and
suggesting ways to the Criminal Justice System to enact laws and programs to reduce crime and
recidivism rates. Criminal Justice is the actual law or penal code, along with all persons and
procedures concerned with upholding the penal code, including: investigation, warrants, arrest,
booking, arraignment, prosecution, and
corrections.

2. Analysis Essay: The Relationship of Criminology to Criminal Justice In
Regards to Capital Punishment
Criminology is the study of crime, through data collected by the Criminal Justice System in order to
determine the character, scope, and source of crime for the purposes of understanding crime and
suggesting ways to the Criminal Justice System to enact laws and programs to reduce crime and
recidivism rates. Criminal Justice is the actual law or penal code, along with all persons and
procedures concerned with upholding the penal code, including: investigation, warrants, arrest,
booking, arraignment, prosecution, and corrections. Although Criminology is theoretical in nature, and
Criminal Justice is tangible in nature, they share a very close relationship because the data that is
collected from the Criminal Justice System enables Criminologists to study trends, conduct studies, and
suggest programs and laws based on scientific research of the data collected for the common goal of
reduction of crime. This process of criminological study often results in theories being tested and used
to try and deter crime.

3. One of these theories is called the Rational Choice Theory, and is based on the assumption that
criminals are rational and they think about what the reward of the crime will bring and what the
consequences of the crime will be if caught, only then do they make a decision on whether or not to
actually commit the crime. (Siegel, n.d.). This means that in deciding which outcome is more attractive,
the criminal will make a rational choice to either forget the crime or to commit the crime based on what
he thinks will benefit him more and what situations will cost him more. Deterrence is reached through
enacting laws which make the sentence for being apprehended and punished much worse than any
benefit that the crime can have. In this case, we will use capital punishment and a simulated study on
the effects of changes in the death penalty policies on the rest of the criminal justice system. Both
models of simulation are using deterrence, and the rational choice theory with the same data to come to
conclusion.
In 1972, the Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty does not violate the Eight Amendment in
regards to cruel and unusual punishment, and since then 38 states have reinstated capital punishment.
From 1977 through 2004, a total of 944 inmates have been executed within 32 states. Because there is
very little research on capital crimes, much of public opinion stems from the media frenzy that begins
before the execution with representatives from both pro capital punishment and anti capital punishment
demonstrating outside of the prison.
Capital punishment rulings offer two forms of deterrence: general deterrence which is the indirect form
utilized by punishing a single individual, to show the rest of society what the punishment for a capital
crime is, in the hopes of deterring others from committing a similar criminal act, and specific
deterrence which is an offender’s direct punishment, which serves a tool to deter future crimes from
that particular offender. (Hicks, 2006)
The University of Loyola headed a research project that was to illuminate various issues pertaining to
capital punishment. A PowerSim model of the entire justice system with added factors such as political
demands, community attitudes and indignation were taken into consideration. Two models were
simulated to indicate how minute changes in the policies affecting capital punishment produce
extensive changes in the entire justice system. The differences in the models are that one maintains the
abuse or mistreatment hypothesis shared by many anti capital punishment views, while the other model
sustains the deterrent hypothesis which takes the pro capital punishment point of view.
Model 1 taking the side of the anti capital punishment view examined what effect was made on the
criminal justice system as a whole when more executions were scheduled using the State of Oklahoma
as an example, who had reinstated the death penalty after 25 years of nonuse, and the work of earlier
criminological studies by J.K. Cochran, M. B. Chamlin, and M. Seth who wrote “Deterrence or
Brutalization: An Impact Study of Oklahoma’s Return to Capital Punishment.” (Hicks, 2006)
What they found was that while more executions were happening, the rate of homicides rose, thereby
raising the crime rate, the cost of crime, and the effect on the general public, thereby having extreme
effects on the criminal justice system as a whole. (Hicks, 2006)
Model 2 takes the side of the pro death penalty cause. It looks at the effect of change in policies
affecting capital punishment on the criminal justice system. This model takes a look at the
consequences of lawmakers making changes in the policies governing death penalties as it comes to
fruition. This simulation does show that increases in executions do lower the crime rate in regards to
homicides. (Hicks, 2006)
It also poses the issue that if the Supreme Court bans use of capital punishment, the states would have
no alternative but to imprison offenders accused of capital crimes. This means that the burden of
housing these criminals falls to the taxpayer, and so the anti death penalty side of capital crime is not
yet feasible. On the other hand, the costs associated with the added expense of housing the criminal and
paying for the prosecution and defense, and in the end execution, of death penalty cases is phenomenal,
so in the end, the taxpayer must shoulder that burden as well, which makes this option also not feasible
either. The study itself however designed to look at the changes caused in the criminal justice system

4. by changing policies on capital punishment even a minute way to the right or left was a success
criminologically speaking, because of the data showing higher costs to the system in either case with
just one change of adding executions, along with model 1 showing not only higher costs, but rising
homicide rates because of it. As for the criminal justice system the study was a success in the fact that
policy makers are now aware of how careful they must be in making any policies regarding capital
punishment. (Hicks, 2006)
Bundy Before and After Execution
References:
Hicks, W. L. (2006) The System- Wide Effects of Capital Punishment on the American
Criminal Justice System: The Use of Computer Modeling in Death Penalty Research. Retrieved
From the World Wide Web January, 25, 2010. http://www.cjcj.org/files/the_system.pdf
Siegel, L. J. (n.d.) Criminology The Core. Third Edition. University of Massachusetts, Lowell:
Thompson Wadsworth & Cenegage Learning.
Photographic Reference:
All photos retrieved from the World Wide Web January 27, 2010 from
www.gadlaw.com
Bundy, Ted- Execution Photos
http://gadbuddhaa.tripod.com/executionpictues.htm
Electric Chair – Electric Chair Photos
http://gadbuddhaa.tripod.com/theelectricchair.htm
Lethal Injection Gurney- The Lethal Injection Gurney Pictures
http://gadbuddhaa.tripod.com/thelethalinjectiongurney.htm
Man on Gurney- The Lethal Injection Gurney Pictures
http://gadbuddhaa.tripod.com/thelethalinjectiongurney.htm