Governor Terry Branstad is actively trying to push the death penalty into law in Iowa.

As a Republican governor, this is not surprising. It seems that affiliation with a specific political party usually means conforming to the general beliefs the party holds.

The problem, however, is whether these beliefs are correct.

Granted, there have been studies claiming that an act such as instating the death penalty is not a deterrent to specifics crimes. Others argue that it is.

One must look to the big picture, however.

How many other states do not have the death penalty? The number is not surprising: only fourteen.

Some states that do have it include New York, California, Illinois and Texas.

Would you consider these states seriously affected by the existence of capital punishment for them?

Is crime in Los Angeles or New York City considerably lower than it is here in Iowa?

Factors to be taken into consideration would include population size and population density.

Iowa has very low crime rate in comparison to these more highly populated states, but if it doesn’t work there, how can one expect that it would have a real impact here?

It boils down to who’s in office.

Iowa’s serious crime rate is relatively not much different now than it was five years ago. Or 10 years ago.

But the Iowa lawmakers have changed, and therefore Iowa’s perspective on serious crime and capital punishment has changed along with these lawmakers.

The educated, intelligent question one has to ask now is:

Are we instating the death penalty now because we should, or because we can?