Death Penalty

Sixty-Nine Percent of Americans Support Death Penalty

Majority say death penalty is applied fairly

October 12, 2007
A substantial majority of 69% of Americans respond "yes" when asked this question: "Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?" This level of support for the death penalty is generally in line with what Gallup has measured in 13 polls conducted since 1999. A majority of Americans also say the death penalty is applied fairly, and only about one in five say it is applied too often.More ...
Views on Capital Punishment

Views on Capital Punishment

October 11, 2007
Americans continue to show consistent support for the death penalty.
Death Penalty

Death Penalty

July 30, 2007
Americans are racially divided in their support for the death penalty.

Racial Disagreement Over Death Penalty Has Varied Historically

Whites consistently more supportive, but only occasionally have majority of blacks favored it

July 30, 2007
For at least 35 years, Gallup polling has found whites to be more supportive than blacks of the death penalty, by an average of nearly 30 points. However, overall public support has occasionally risen to the point that a majority of blacks have supported the death penalty for a person convicted of murder. At no time has Gallup found support dropping so low that a majority of whites have opposed it.More ...

Death Penalty

Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder? If you could choose between the following two approaches, which do you think is the better penalty for murder -- [ROTATED: the death penalty (or) life imprisonment, with absolutely no possibility of parole]?More ...

Support for the Death Penalty 30 Years After the Supreme Court Ruling

Two in three currently support it

June 30, 2006
Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court's Gregg v. Georgia decision effectively reinstated the death penalty in the United States. Americans' support for the death penalty, which had waned in the mid-1960s through 1970s, began to increase at about the time the case was being considered. Support continued to grow as the use of the death penalty expanded in the 1980s and 1990s, reaching a high of 80% in 1994. Since then, support has declined and leveled off, and today roughly two in three Americans favor the death penalty for convicted murderers.More ...

Two in Three Favor Death Penalty for Convicted Murderers

Public divided over death penalty or life imprisonment as better punishment

June 1, 2006
Recent Gallup data show Americans continue to support the execution of convicted murderers. When given a choice between the death penalty and life imprisonment, however, Americans divide evenly as to which is the better penalty for murder. While Americans believe innocent people have been executed in the last five years and doubt that the death penalty deters people from committing murder, most believe it is applied fairly and should be used more often.More ...

Death Penalty Gets Less Support From Britons, Canadians Than Americans

Major gender, partisan gaps in United States, Canada; not in Britain

February 20, 2006
By about a 2-to-1 margin, Americans support the death penalty for a person convicted of murder, while Canadians and Britons are more evenly divided. There are significant gender gaps and partisan differences in death penalty attitudes in Canada and the United States, while in Britain, men and women have similar views, and the partisan difference is minor.More ...

Support for Death Penalty Steady at 64%

Slightly lower than in recent past

December 8, 2005
Public support for the death penalty has held steady in the past few years, but Gallup's long-term trend indicates that support is significantly lower today than it was through the 1980s and 1990s. The recent debate about the number of innocent people on death row may have been responsible for the slight decline in support in 2000, but it is unclear whether that issue retains as much oomph with the public today.More ...

Hussein Trial to Resume Under Tight Security

American public supports death penalty if Saddam convicted

November 28, 2005
A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Nov. 11-13, shows that nearly three out of four Americans (72%) would favor the death penalty for Saddam Hussein, should he be found guilty of crimes against humanity. Twenty-five percent would oppose such a sentence. His trial on these charges is scheduled to resume Dec. 5.More ...
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