News and Developments 2008: Public Opinion

The Gallup Poll’s latest national survey of American opinion on the death penalty found that support for capital punishment dropped by 5 percentage points from 2007, down to 64% support from 69% last year. The pecentage of those opposing capital punishment rose from 27% to 30%. This poll reflects that support for the death penalty is equal to the lowest level in the Gallup Polls during the past 30 years.  Support had reached a high of 80% in 1994.

A recent Harris Interactive poll of over 1,000 American adults found that the number of people who oppose the death penalty has increased since 2003. Thirty-percent (30%) of those sampled oppose the death penalty, an increase of 8 percentage points in the past 5 years. The percentage of respondents who "believe in capital punishment" has dropped significantly since 1997, when 75% supported the death penalty.  In 2008, that number had declined to 63%, the lowest number in recent years.