Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Law - Criminal process, Criminology, Law Enforcement, grade: A, University of Alaska Fairbanks, language: English, abstract: This is an investigation into the death penalty and how it is applied across political lines in America. With a focus on the differences in Democratic run states and Republican run states. The death penalty and its effects on a state's murder rate have long been a point of controversy. It has been debated whether the death penalty is a deterrent to crime. There is an ongoing need to understand the deterrence effect of the death penalty, in order to understand how to properly lower the murder rates in a given area. Further, in order to understand if the death penalty is applied in a given state , it is important to look at the political orientation of a particular state. Political orientation can have a strong affect on the punishment type chosen by a particular state. This study seeks to clarify the debate by looking at the statistical facts, and formulating hypothesis. (1) the death penalty is a deterrent for the crime of murder. (2) Conservative states are more likely to employ the death penalty. Null hypothesis, (1) the death penalty has no effect on the murder rate. (2) political leanings of a state do not determine if they have the death penalty.