GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Last spring, Illinois Governor George Ryan made headlines by imposing a moratorium on the death penalty in his state as several death row inmates were discovered to be innocent of the crimes for which they were found guilty. The state of Maryland's attempt to institute a moratorium of its own failed at the close of its legislative session last Monday. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg publicly endorsed the legislation in a speech on Monday, hours before the legislative session ended.
The American public's opinion is divided on death penalty moratoriums. A March 26-28 Gallup Poll experiment posed the issue of a moratorium to Americans in two different ways, the results of which revealed that attitudes about such an action are tentative at this point. The public's support for a moratorium ranges between 53% and 42% depending on exactly how the concept is presented to them.
The first question was asked as follows:
"As you may know, Illinois has instituted a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the use of the death penalty until it can be better determined if the death penalty is being administered accurately and fairly in that state. Would you say you favor or oppose such a moratorium on the death penalty in all other states with the death penalty?"
Note that the question only provides reasoning in favor of a moratorium, but no reasons to oppose it, a question construction that generally tilts responses toward a moratorium. The results show that a majority of Americans -- 53% -- favor the moratorium, while 40% oppose.
However, when asked a slightly different question, which does provide a reason to oppose a moratorium, less than half of the public supports it. This question was worded:
Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: there should be a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the death penalty until it can be better determined if the death penalty is being administered accurately and fairly in this country, (or) there should not be a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the death penalty because there are already sufficient safeguards in the current justice system to prevent the execution of innocent people]?
According to this phrasing, 42% of Americans think there should be a moratorium on the death penalty, while 55% do not.
These differences in results based on question construction are quite normal in survey research. They give a good indication of the degree to which Americans are open to argument on an issue. In this situation, the results suggest that, while a majority may support the idea of a moratorium on the death penalty at first glance, that support can be lowered considerably if strong arguments against such a moratorium are effectively carried to the people.
It should also be noted that when the first question was posed this February, the public was asked a follow-up question probing whether they felt strongly or not about the death penalty moratorium. About three out of 10 said they did not have a strong opinion on the matter, indicating that their view is open to change.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,024 adults, 18 years and older, conducted March 26-28, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
As you may know, Illinois has instituted a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the use of the death penalty until it can be better determined if the death penalty is being administered accurately and fairly in that state. Would you say you favor or oppose such a moratorium on the death penalty in all other states with the death penalty?
BASED ON -- 484 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.
|
Favor |
Oppose |
No opinion |
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28 |
53% |
40 |
7 |
|
2001 Feb 19-21 |
57% |
32 |
11 |
Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: there should be a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the death penalty until it can be better determined if the death penalty is being administered accurately and fairly in this country, (or) there should not be a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the death penalty because there are already sufficient safeguards in the current justice system to prevent the execution of innocent people]?
BASED ON -- 540 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; ±5 PCT. PTS.
|
Should be a |
Should not be a moratorium |
No |
|
|
2001 Mar 26-28 |
42% |
55 |
3 |
