re: The SCOTUS liberals are not happy with Trump's federal executions

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Death penalty would be an acutal deterrant if they stopped all the unnecessary delays.

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This is an issue I studied in depth about 30 years ago.
The term was 'certainty of punishment.' The research said any type of punishment must have a level of severity but also a big element of certainty (high percentage it will happen and it happens quickly).

It was intriguing material. For example, the reason some people will play golf when a storm is coming is because there is an extremely low risk of getting struck by lightening that outweighs the severity of getting killed by it.
OTOH, the risk a smoker takes of dying from cancer is very high, but the time lapse may be 40 years so there is no deterrent.

So, for cap pun to deter you have to kill a high percentage of murderers and you have to kill them within a year or two.

Another interesting factor was 'societal retribution.' IE, executing Adolph Eichmann was not designed to deter people from gassing Jews. He was killed because it just made people feel good. Every time I read about a murderer dying it makes me feel good and I don't even know the victim.