Deterrents:-
When the death penalty was suspended in 1965 the murder rate in UK was around 50 a year, now it is 600 ( and that is excluding manslaughter and serious GBH convictions).,
I would argue that sentences can be deterrents but the problem is that sentences are not deterrents. If they were they would deter and crime would be much lower. Reluctantly I believe that punishments should be increased until the deterrent effect become clear.
In any argument about crime I believe the overwhelming concern should be the protection of the innocent victim not the well-being of the criminal.
