The claim that capital punishment deters criminals comes from the fact that those people who commit murders and other crimes punishable by death also think about the possibility of being executed before the crime. This assumption is based on a completely distorted picture of the offenders and the conditions in which they commit crimes. Most of these crimes are committed in a state of stress during a time of great emotional turmoil or under the influence of drugs or alcohol – that is, when there is no logical thinking and rational considerations. Some of these crimes are committed by very unbalanced or mentally ill persons. Such criminals don't think about the punishment which they may face if they are caught.

The main factors causing crime are poverty, lack of education, inequality in society and psychic  deviances of particular offenders. The death penalty can not affect these causes. A significant part of the responsibility for the crime lies on the society, the offender may be considered as an accomplice and performer of a "joint" crime, where the man has been left to himself, "lost" when it was necessary to influence him in his teens, take preventive measures and help him socialize in the community after serving punishment for less serious crime.

In 2009 the court sentenced to death Vasil Yuzepchuk, a 30-year-old resident of the district of the Drahičyn district, who was found guilty of committing a series of murders of elderly women. At the conclusion of the expert commission, the convict had a mild mental retardation, poorly oriented in the vicinity, was illiterate and fed upon the alms. There is registered evidence that Yuzepchuk was beaten during his stay in the remand prison. The convict sent a petition for clemency to the president. He asked to save his life, insisting that in the future there could be discovered circumstances proving his innocence. However, he was shot.

It's also worth considering how timely and effectively law enforcement agencies respond to alarms, and whether they take necessary steps to prevent crimes. In 2010, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced to death Andrei Burdyka and Aleh Hryshkautsou. They were found guilty of murder of the people while intoxicated: a woman was killed out of jealousy, all the rest – as witnesses. During the week before the murder, the future offenders consumed alcohol. On the eve of the tragedy the old owner of the apartment tried to calm them down while a scandal was erupting. He called to the police six time, asking them to come. However, nobody arrived. As it was found during the court proceedings, these calls hadn't even been put in the appropriate register by the duty policeman.