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This list is old and outdated. Look at the bottom of the chart and it says it is based on 1998-2000 statistics. A lot has changed in the past decade, especially at the top of the list that was cited. Colombia is no longer at the top of the homicide rate list - things have gotten a lot less violent there.
Here's a state-by-state chart for the US for 2009, along with surrounding nations.
What I will note about your chart is that the states without a death penalty (or without one that is actually used) have the lowest homicide rates in this country. Take a look at New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. The death penalty is on the books, but rarely used in Idaho, Utah, and Montana. Yet their homicide rates are very low as well.
Now, compare this with the deep South where the death penalty is most frequently applied in this country. Louisiana seems to have the highest murder rate in this country. Also look at Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. These states which all routinely execute people (and have for the last twenty years) have the highest homicide rates in this country.
Are there any lessons to be drawn from this? I draw the following ones:
1. Violent places seem to need violent punishments for offenders while non-violent places seem to not need as violent punishments.
2. The criminal justice system may be fairly irrelevant to why violent crime is committed. Perhaps, other factors like good schools, family cohesion, a better economy, and the absence of racial problems are more a factor in determining crime levels?
3. The USA is a vastly heterogenous (or differing) society. Homicide in New Hampshire is very rare indeed. Yet, in Louisiana leaving your home may pose more risk than you imagine it does.
4. Some states like New Mexico, puzzle me. There is a very homicide rate there compared to neighboring states. Is it all the result of crime along the Mexican border?
5. There is still much we do not understand in terms of preventing violent crme.
So Louisana is the most murderous state? Is it cause of New Orleans?
Yes, Louisiana is the most murderous state. 21 consecutive years (1989-2009) and counting, and yes it's because of New Orleans as it has the highest average per capita murder rate of any major U.S. city over the last 30 yrs at 52 per 100,000.
New Mexico, more crime due to Indian Reservations. Nothing like mixing guns and booze.
Why is it that states with a higher level of minorities have more murders?
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