MORNING 23 February 2021 High Commissioner for Human Rights: There is no Evidence that the Death Penalty Deters Crime More Effectively than any other Punishment The Human Rights Council this morning held its biennial high-level panel discussion on the question of the death penalty, with a focus on human rights violations related to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to whether the use of the death penalty has a deterrent effect on crime rate. Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that there was no evidence that the death penalty deterred crime more effectively than any other punishment. Studies suggested that some States that had abolished the death penalty saw their murder rates unaltered or even decline. Studies had shown that it was the certainty of punishment, not its severity, that deterred criminals. There could be no greater call than an end to impunity, because if impunity fed crime, justice would prevent it. True deterrence was the rule of law.