# Brutalization

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In [criminology](/source/Criminology), **brutalization** refers to a hypothesized cause-and-effect relationship between [executions](/source/Execution) and an increase in the [homicide](/source/Homicide) 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](/source/Deterrence_(legal)) effect.[1][2]

## Support

A 1980 study found that in [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), there were an average of two additional homicides in the month after an execution, consistent with a brutalization effect.[3] A 1994 study found evidence of this effect in [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma), but only in relation to stranger homicides,[4] while a 1998 study found strong evidence to support a hypothesis relating to the total number of homicides in Oklahoma.[5]

## Opposition

A 1978 study found no evidence to support the brutalization hypothesis.[1] A 1994 study also found no evidence to support it with regards to overall homicides in Oklahoma.[4]

## References

1. King, D. R. (1 December 1978). "The Brutalization Effect: Execution Publicity and the Incidence of Homicide in South Carolina". *Social Forces*. **57** (2): 683–687. [doi:10.1093/sf/57.2.683](https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/57.2.683)

1. Shepherd, Joanna (14 December 2005). ["Why not all executions deter murder"](https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1214/p09s01-coop.html). *Christian Science Monitor*. Retrieved 30 April 2016.

1. Bowers, W. J. & Pierce, G. L. (1 January 1980). "Deterrence or Brutalization: What Is the Effect of Executions?". *Crime & Delinquency*. **26** (4): 453–484. [doi:10.1177/001112878002600402](https://doi.org/10.1177/001112878002600402). [S2CID 143740546](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143740546)

1. COCHRAN, JOHN K.; CHAMLIN, MITCHELL B.; SETH, MARK (February 1994). "Deterrence or Brutalization? An Impact Assessment of Oklahoma's Return to Capital Punishment". *Criminology*. **32** (1): 107–134. [doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1994.tb01148.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1994.tb01148.x)

1. BAILEY, WILLIAM C. (November 1998). ["Deterrence, Brutalization, and the Death Penalty: Another Examination of Oklahoma's Return to Capital Punishment"](https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=clsoc_crim_facpub). *Criminology*. **36** (4): 711–734. [doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01263.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01263.x)

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