Facts & Research

Public Opinion

Public opinion polls show that support for the death penalty is currently near historic lows after peaking in 1994 and declining over the last 30 years.

DPI Report: Smart on Crime

DPI Report: Smart on Crime

Reconsidering the Death Penalty in Time of Economic Crisis

Overview

In a democracy, the substance of the laws is determined by the people. Even the constitution can be changed through the democratic process. Public sentiment can be measured through polling, but it is also reflected in elections and referenda, both on a local and national level.

There is a long history of polls of asking the public whether they favor or oppose the death penalty for the crime of murder. The resultant responses might reflect the public’s philosophical or moral stance on the issue, but they do not measure opinion about the death penalty as it is actually practiced, which requires such information as the availability of alternative sentences, the risks of mistake and bias, and the costs associated with the practice.

At Issue

The death penalty is sometimes justified because the majority of poll respondents supports it in the abstract. The Supreme Court, in attempting to determine whether a punishment is cruel and unusual, asks whether the punishment comports with society’s “evolving standards of decency.” The Court has been reluctant to rely on opinion polls to measure these standards because poll results can vary widely depending on the polling firm and the specific wording of the questions asked. Instead, the Court has looked to the actions of state legislatures and the decisions of juries, prosecutors and governors, as reflecting public will. The myriad of disturbing facts about the death penalty has led to a sharp decline in its use and even to a lowering of support in the abstract poll question. Ultimately, the future of the death penalty will depend on whether it is retaining public support.

What DPIC Offers

DPI has highlighted the results of many polls on the death penalty over many years, both on a national and state level. Some of these polls go into greater depth than those just asking the abstract question of support or opposition. DPI has also commissioned its own polls, including surveys of those in law enforcement, and has issued reports on the results.

Gallups’s 2023 poll about sup­port for the death penalty

News & Developments


News

Nov 18, 2024

NEW POLL: Overall Support for the Death Penalty Remains at Five-Decade Low as Opposition to the Death Penalty Grows Among Younger Generations

According to October 2024 polling pro­duced by Gallup, sup­port for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment remains at a five-decade low in the United States. Overall, Gallup found 53% of Americans in favor of the death penal­ty, but that num­ber masks con­sid­er­able dif­fer­ences between old­er and younger Americans. More than half of young adults aged 18 to 43 now oppose the death penal­ty. Among those express­ing a polit­i­cal affil­i­a­tion, sup­port for the death penal­ty fell marked­ly in all groups and in all generations,…

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News

Oct 11, 2024

French and German Embassies Host a Discussion on Innocence and the Death Penalty

On October 11, 2024 the Embassies of France and Germany host­ed a dis­cus­sion on the ques­tion of inno­cence and the death penal­ty at the res­i­dence of the French Ambassador in Washington, D.C. Panelists includ­ed Herman Lindsey, a death row exoneree and Executive Director of Witness to Innocence; Vanessa Potkin, Director of Special Litigation at the Innocence Project; and Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, Director of the Death Penalty Abolition Program at Catholic Mobilizing Network. The approx­i­mate­ly 75

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News

Sep 05, 2024

Research Roundup: Revisiting David Baldus’s Study to Examine Modern Day Use of the Death Penalty

DPI’s new series focus­es on aca­d­e­m­ic research and arti­cles in the field of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. This month’s arti­cle is Sacred Victims: Fifty Years of Data on Victim Race and Sex as Predictors of Execution,” in The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, co-authored by Professors Scott Phillips (Department of Sociology & Criminology), Justin Marceau, Sam Kamin, and a J.D. pro­gram alum­na, Nicole King, from the Sturm College of Law at the University of…

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News

Sep 03, 2024

Articles of Interest: The New York Times Editorial Board Argues United States Does Not Need the Death Penalty”

In an August 31, 2024, edi­to­r­i­al from The New York Times, the newspaper’s edi­to­r­i­al board writes that cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment is immoral, uncon­sti­tu­tion­al and use­less as a deter­rent to crime,” and asserts that President Joseph Biden should fol­low through with his cam­paign pledge to end the fed­er­al death penal­ty. The Times believes it would be an appro­pri­ate and humane finale to his pres­i­den­cy for Mr. Biden to ful­fill that pledge and try to elim­i­nate the death penal­ty for federal…

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