Jackson's growing homicide rate has prompted Hinds County's new district attorney to do something that hasn't been done in at least two decades - seek the death penalty often in capital murder cases.

Robert Shuler Smith said Wednesday he believes the death penalty is a crime deterrent. There have been 29 homicides in Jackson this year; there had been 18 at this time last year.

"If someone thinks that you can commit murder in Hinds County and either walk away from the crime or not face the death penalty, I believe that weakens the strength of our laws," he said. "The death penalty should be imposed more frequently or more often."

Of course, Hinds County includes Jackson, which is known in the region as a high crime city.  I have a number of problems with this announcement, not the least of which is reflected by a law enforcement statement buried at the end of the Clarion Ledger story.

Jackson Assistant Police Chief Lee Vance said he believes society needs the death penalty but does not think it deters crime. He pointed to the recent execution of Earl Wesley Berry, a man convicted of kidnapping and beating a woman to death in 1986, as an example.

"The length of time that goes by before the (death) sentence is carried out takes away any effectiveness it has as a deterrent," he said.

"It would be a deterrent if a person was contemplating committing a crime and knew that if he was caught and convicted he would be put to death in three months, not in 20 years."