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Actually, being from the last state to give up the whipping post, I have been involved in the discussion of the deterent, but that was 35+ years ago. I don't have the time for research, at least not at this time, but if memory serves me correctly, the statistics showed a substantial increase in crime in the state once the judiciary stopped sentencing people to a public flogging/whipping.
As far as people commiting the crime regardless of the sentence, I would question the results of your research unless additional parameters were posed to those interviewed. For example, how many thought they were going to be caught? How many believed if caught, they would actually be convicted and, if so, receive the maximum sentence permitted. How many began their day knowing they would be commiting a crime? How many got up in the morning knowing they were going out and killing someone that day? Would the answer be the same if there was no question that, if caught, they would die? No other options, no 20 years on death row while an indefinite number of appeals are filed. In and out of court and directly to the chair/stretcher/rope/wall?
(Please note, late at night and using "they" simply in a generic form, grammar be damned!)
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The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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