---
title: 'Gallup Poll Finds Decreased Support for Death Penalty When Compared with Life Sentence'
description: 'A May 2004 Gallup Poll found that a growing number of Americans support a sentence of life without parole rather than the death penalty for those…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/gallup-poll-finds-decreased-support-for-death-penalty-when-compared-with-life-sentence'
section: news
date: '2004-06-02T20:52:53-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:22:12-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

A May 2004 Gallup Poll found that a **growing number of Americans support a sentence of life without parole rather than the death penalty for those convicted of murder.** Gallup found that 46% of respondents favor life imprisonment over the death penalty, up from 44% in May 2003. During that same time frame, support for capital punishment as an alternative fell from 53% to 50%. The poll also revealed a growing skepticism that the death penalty deters crime, with **62% of those polled saying that it is not a deterrent.** These percentages are a dramatic shift from the responses given to this same question in 1991, when 51% of Americans believed the death penalty deterred crime and only 41% believed it did not. **Only 55% of those polled responded that they believed the death penalty is implemented fairly, down from 60% in 2003.** When not offered an alternative sentence, 71% supported the death penalty and 26% opposed. The overall support is about the same as that reported in 2002, but down from the 80% support in 1994.(Gallup Poll News Service, June 2, 2004) [Read the Gallup Press Release](/article.php?scid=23&did=1029). See [Public Opinion](/public-opinion-about-death-penalty?did=209&scid=23). See also [Life Without Parole](/life-without-parole?did=555&scid=59).