--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The death penalty is no more effective a…" description: "\"The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the po..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/thurgood-marshall-10063_burden_the-death-penalty-is-no-more-effective-a_2252408.png" --- # The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than… ![“The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society.” quote by Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/thurgood-marshall-10063_burden_the-death-penalty-is-no-more-effective-a_2252408.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/thurgood-marshall-10063_burden_the-death-penalty-is-no-more-effective-a_2252408.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/thurgood-marshall-10063_burden_the-death-penalty-is-no-more-effective-a_2252408.png) > “The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society.” [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The death penalty fails as a deterrent and disproportionately harms marginalized groups. **In simple terms:** Capital punishment is ineffective and unfair. Key Takeaway Advocate fair, equitable justice. Themes justice inequality policy human rights Mood serious determined Type legal advocational When to use this quote - criminal justice reform - policy making - advocacy - community education Key Concepts law ethics social impact Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reduce crime without death penalty? - What alternatives ensure public safety and fairness? A Different Perspective Abolition may face strong political resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Capital punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-punishment/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death penalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-penalty/) [Deterrent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterrent/) [Deterrent Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterrent-life-5149784/) [Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Imprisonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imprisonment/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Imprisonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-imprisonment-894374/) [Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members/) [Penalties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penalties/) [Penalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penalty/) [Penalty Effective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penalty-effective-1158156/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Underprivileged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underprivileged/) ## Related quotes > [The death penalty would be even more effective, as a deterrent, if we executed a few innocent people more often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-death-penalty-would-be-even-more-effective-as-a-deterrent-if-we/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Among some tossed-out books of my daughter's which I rescued...was one too awful to live. I returned it to the trash, resisting the urge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-sharon-schwartz/among-some-tossed-out-books-of-my-daughter-s-which-i-rescued-was-one/) [Lynne Sharon Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-sharon-schwartz/) > [I have evolved to where I don't think the death penalty is effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-lundberg-stratton/i-have-evolved-to-where-i-don-t-think-the-death-penalty-is-effective/) [Evelyn Lundberg Stratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-lundberg-stratton/) > [We don't know if capital punishment is a deterrent, but we know that men we execute will not murder again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-puzo/we-don-t-know-if-capital-punishment-is-a-deterrent-but-we-know-that/) [Mario Puzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-puzo/) > [I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-support-the-death-penalty-because-i-believe-if-administered-swiftly/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I have now come to the conclusion (roughly) that capital punishment is defensible, if it can be shown to have a deterrent effect on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/i-have-now-come-to-the-conclusion-roughly-that-capital-punishment-is/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Capital punishment? It makes no sense as a policy: It's not a deterrent, and economically it's a disaster. It's very clear that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-goldwyn/capital-punishment-it-makes-no-sense-as-a-policy-it-s-not-a-deterrent/) [Tony Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-goldwyn/) > [It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree…I do not now believe that any one of the hundreds of executions I carried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pierrepoint/it-is-said-to-be-a-deterrent-i-cannot-agree-i-do-not-now-believe-that/) [Albert Pierrepoint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pierrepoint/) > [Marijuana gives rise to insanity -- not in its users but in the policies directed against it. A nation that sentences the possessor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/marijuana-gives-rise-to-insanity-not-in-its-users-but-in-the-policies/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [I believe life imprisonment is far worse than the death penalty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-yarris/i-believe-life-imprisonment-is-far-worse-than-the-death-penalty/) [Nick Yarris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-yarris/) > [To top it off, for those of you who are interested in the economics, it costs more to pursue a capital case toward execution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/to-top-it-off-for-those-of-you-who-are-interested-in-the-economics-it/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [Since I was a law student, I have been against the death penalty. It does not deter. It is severely discriminatory against minorities, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/since-i-was-a-law-student-i-have-been-against-the-death-penalty-it/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [If love is ajail and she is aprison officer let me be sentanced to prison for the life imprisonment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princealanz/if-love-is-ajail-and-she-is-aprison-officer-let-me-be-sentanced-to/) [Princealanz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princealanz/) > [A criminal was sentence to 200 years with hard labour.. Thank God I thought it will be a life imprisonment said the criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jegede-abiodun/a-criminal-was-sentence-to-200-years-with-hard-labour-thank-god-i/) [Jegede Abiodun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jegede-abiodun/) > [One criminal was sentence to 200 yrs with hard labour.. Thank God I thought it will be a life imprisonment said the criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jegede-abiodun/one-criminal-was-sentence-to-200-yrs-with-hard-labour-thank-god-i/) [Jegede Abiodun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jegede-abiodun/) ## More by Thurgood Marshall > [None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/none-of-us-got-where-we-are-solely-by-pulling-ourselves-up-by-our/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [This is a great country, but fortunately for you, it is not perfect. There is much to be done to bring about complete equality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/this-is-a-great-country-but-fortunately-for-you-it-is-not-perfect/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society. They are contrary to our constitution and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/classifications-and-distinctions-based-on-race-or-color-have-no-moral/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/our-whole-constitutional-heritage-rebels-at-the-thought-of-giving/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We are all the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-are-all-the-same/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We could get more action in the South because the Negroes had a feeling that they were being oppressed. But you take New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-could-get-more-action-in-the-south-because-the-negroes-had-a/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [We must dissent from the fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/we-must-dissent-from-the-fear/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [I have a lifetime appointment and I intend to serve it. I expect to die at 110, shot by a jealous husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/i-have-a-lifetime-appointment-and-i-intend-to-serve-it-i-expect-to/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [The Ku Klux Klan never dies. They just stop wearing sheets because sheets cost too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/the-ku-klux-klan-never-dies-they-just-stop-wearing-sheets-because/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Some may more quietly commemorate the suffering, struggle, and sacrifice that has triumphed over much of what was wrong with the original document, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/some-may-more-quietly-commemorate-the-suffering-struggle-and/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [It is now well established that the Constitution protects the right to receive information and ideas. ... This right to receive information and ideas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/it-is-now-well-established-that-the-constitution-protects-the-right/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war and momentous social transformation to attain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/to-the-contrary-the-government-they-devised-was-defective-from-the/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Today's Constitution is a realistic document of freedom only because of several corrective amendments. Those amendments speak to a sense of decency and fairness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/today-s-constitution-is-a-realistic-document-of-freedom-only-because/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [Truth is more than a mental exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/truth-is-more-than-a-mental-exercise/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) > [I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurgood-marshall/i-wish-i-could-say-that-racism-and-prejudice-were-only-distant/) [Thurgood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) [Explore all 68 Thurgood Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurgood-marshall/) ## More Burden quotes > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Trump's enduring appeal is a resource to be harnessed by the Republican Party, not a burden to be jettisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/trump-s-enduring-appeal-is-a-resource-to-be-harnessed-by-the/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [We want to free our citizens from the burden of excessive paper documents in every office. We want paperless transactions. We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [“What a burden it must be to know all the terrible things you've done and support it with arms unfit to carry it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-weikel/what-a-burden-it-must-be-to-know-all-the-terrible-things-you-ve-done/) [K. Weikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-weikel/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [It's a burden trying to keep a secret. It's hard. It probably takes more out of you trying to hold it and keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/it-s-a-burden-trying-to-keep-a-secret-it-s-hard-it-probably-takes/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/) [David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/) > [Our office...subjects us to great burdens and labors, dangers and temptations, with little reward or gratitude from the world. But Christ himself will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-office-subjects-us-to-great-burdens-and-labors-dangers-and/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) [Browse all 2,567 Burden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... 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