The System-Wide Effects of Capital Punishment on the American Criminal Justice System: The Use of Computer Modeling in Death Penalty Research

Issues pertaining to the use of the death penalty are many and varied. Far too often debate regarding the use of the death penalty centers on emotional arguments regarding the moral questions generated by the use of the death penalty. This paper strives to examine issues surrounding capital punishment utilizing a systems analysis approach. Two models were created utilizing the PowerSim modeling program in an effort to explore the brutalizing effect posited by Cochran and Chamlin in their work on the reintroduction of the death penalty in the state of Oklahoma and the deterrence argument presented by those in favor of capital punishment. While neither PowerSim models provides a definitive answer with regards to the issues inherent in the larger capital punishment debate they do shed some additional light on an otherwise highly complicated social issue. 3 About the Author Wendy L. Hicks is currently an associate professor of criminal justice at Loyola University in New Orleans. A graduate of Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice Dr. Hicks also holds a master's degree in psychology and criminal justice from Illinois State University. She has published on such topics as police vehicular pursuits, Skinhead neo-Nazi gangs, and police operations and administration. Professor Hicks teaches research methods, statistics, and program planning and evaluation at Loyola University New Orleans. Her areas of interest within the field of criminal justice include quantitative methods, police vehicular pursuits, law enforcement administration, and white supremacy.