Additional Resources

DPIC 2010 Public Opinion Poll

Read DPIC page: Poll Shows Growing Support for Alternatives to the Death Penalty; Capital Punishment Ranked Lowest Among Budget Priorities.

Unfairness, high costs, victims’ needs, and innocence are important to voters’ thinking about the death penalty

(See also this poll broken out by Catholic respondents, compared to the country as a whole. Catholics showed stronger support for alternatives to the death penalty.)

(Nov. 16, 2010, Washington, D.C.) The Death Penalty Information Center released the results of one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted of Americans’ views on the death penalty. A national poll of 1,500 registered voters conducted by Lake Research Partners shows growing support for alternatives to the death penalty compared with previous polls. A clear majority of voters (61%) would choose a punishment other than the death penalty for murder, including life with no possibility of parole and with restitution to the victim’s family (39%), life with no possibility of parole (13%), or life with the possibility of parole (9%).

In states with the death penalty, a plurality of voters said it would make no difference in their vote if a representative supported repeal of the death penalty; and a majority (62%) said either it would make no difference (38%) or they would be more likely to vote for such a representative (24%).

DPIC Public Opinion Reports