NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE QUOTES LSU PROFESSOR

November 26, 2007

LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business’ Department of Economics Professor Naci Mocan was featured in the Nov. 18, 2007 edition of The New York Times for his study regarding the effectiveness of capital punishment as a disincentive.
           
The article, entitled ‘Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate,’ detailed statistics showing that the threat of execution does indeed act as a dissuasive tool for would-be criminals. While critics counter that there exist several unexamined variables that would need to be considered before definitively concluding that the death penalty is a true deterrent, Mocan maintains that the reduction in violent crimes is numerically attributable to each execution that takes place.
           
Mocan’s work has received support from a number of prestigious law professors throughout the country. They assert that the disparity between crimes rates before the intensive implementation of capital threats and those afterwards corroborates the bulk of the study in question.  
           
“I am personally opposed to the death penalty,” Mocan is quoted as saying in the article. “But my research shows that there is a deterrent effect.”
           
While experts are clearly divided, the integrity and comprehensiveness of the study have gone unquestioned. Given the materials available for an investigation of this sort, Mocan’s work stands as one of the fairest and sincerest efforts to evaluate this subject to date.