Those who are pro capital punishment argue that the death penalty deters future homicide from occurring. These arguments have merit but there is more to the argument that they fail to address underlying factors that do not connect with executions. An author from U.S. news main claim is that there is a strong connection between the deterrence of murders and executions. The author references a study done in 2003 by Emory university which gathered data from 3,000 counties. Those researchers found that “each execution, on average, resulted in 18 fewer murders per county” (Muhlhausen 2). The research and claims can be refuted by multiple factors. First, the research does not include variables such as, increased law enforcement, a growth in economy, stricter jail times, progressing society and a natural decrease in crime. In addition, if you multiply the numbers in the research it exceeds that of the actual number of murders in the United states.