Jack Brooks: “Mr. Chairman, I think this is a very important debate because many people genuinely do not agree that the death penalty…”

“Mr. Chairman, I think this is a very important debate because many people genuinely do not agree that the death penalty is a deterrent or that it should be on the books. Others believe that there is some discrimination that is carried out in the actual implementation of death penalties generically. I think both positions are wrong. The death penalty has a place in our society. We should defeat this amendment for that reason. The death penalty with regard to deterrence is not going to deter everybody who might commit a murder or commit a heinous crime subject to the death penalty, but it does deter a certain number of people. Statistically it is impossible for us to be able to demonstrate that in every case because the people who do not commit those crimes or do not commit the murders that would get the death penalty are not around on death row or in jail somewhere to interview. But it is just common sense, and I think it has been proven by many, many studies that the death penalty indeed does deter a substantial amount of crime when it is carried out properly. The biggest problem we have with it today is that we do not have the swiftness and certainty of punishment, and we have the endless appeals that the death row inmates have, but that is another problem.”