Homicide can be deterred by punishment. According to sociologist Travis Hirschi, people restrain themselves from committing crimes like homicide when they have successfully forged what he calls a social bond with conventional society. Hirschi explains the four components to this social bond as attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Attachment would be the emotional aspect of the bond, it is representative of personal relationships. Commitment would refer to possessions and expected benefits that would be taken away if one were to commit a crime. Involvement is the time and energy one uses of the social bond. Beliefs are the moral aspect – one will not commit a homicide because it is believed to be wrong. If this social bond remains strong, it refrains people from committing deviant acts like homicide. If this social bond is non-existent or becomes weak, a person will be at greater risk for breaking the rules of society. If a person is deterred by their belief that it will cost them valued social relationships then homicide can be prevented and deterred.
             Convicted murderers should be executed because of a strict interpretation of the lex-talionis, an eye for an eye. These convicted murderers deserve to be executed however taking "revenge" in such a literal translation might not be the best method. Therefore, proportional retribution would be better suited for our society. This would require that those who commit the most serious crimes would be punished more than those who commit less serious crimes.
             Since a person's risk of becoming a murder victim has a lot to do with their age, sex, race, ethnicity and class, murder can be deterred. African Americans have higher rates of murder victimization for all age groups. The leading cause of death for African American men and women between the ages of 15 – 24 is murder. African Americans were six times more likely than whites to hav...