“Science does really draw a conclusion. It did. There is no question about it,” said Naci Mocan, an economics professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. “The conclusion is there is a deterrent effect.”

They were even able to quantify the results…

Each execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors at Emory University. (Other studies have estimated the deterred murders per execution at three, five and 14).

Speeding up executions would strengthen the deterrent effect. For every 2.75 years cut from time spent on death row, one murder would be prevented, according to a 2004 study by an Emory University professor.

A 2003 study he co-authored, and a 2006 study that re-examined the data, found that each execution results in five fewer homicides, and commuting a death sentence means five more homicides.

Surely, these folks must be some right-wing crime-and-punishment wackos, right?

“The results are robust, they don’t really go away,” he said. “I oppose the death penalty. But my results show that the death penalty (deters) what am I going to do, hide them?”

Check out the entire article – it’s very good. Once again, common sense has data to back it up.