---
title: 'NEW DPIC REPORT and POLL: "A Crisis of Confidence"'
description: 'According to a new report and opinion poll issued today by the Death Penalty Information Center, the American public is losing confidence in the death…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-dpic-report-and-poll-a-crisis-of-confidence'
section: news
date: '2007-06-08T21:22:53-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:24:41-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

According to a new report and opinion poll issued today by the **Death Penalty Information Center**, the American public is losing confidence in the death penalty as doubts about innocence and the purpose of capital punishment increase. The report, A Crisis of Confidence: Americans’ Doubts About the Death Penalty, is based on a recent national opinion poll conducted by RT Strategies and commissioned by DPIC.

“Public confidence in the death penalty has clearly eroded over the past 10 years, mostly as a result of DNA exonerations. Whether it is concern about executing the innocent, beliefs that the death penalty is not a deterrent, moral objections to taking human life, or a general sense that the system is too broken to be fixed, the bottom line is the same: Americans are moving away from the death penalty,” said Richard Dieter, DPIC’s Executive Director.

Key poll findings include:

- Almost 40% of the public believe that they would be disqualified from serving on a jury in a death penalty case because of their moral beliefs. Among sub-groups such as women, African-Americans, and Catholics, the percentage who believe they would be excluded is even higher. These findings raise serious questions about whether defendants are being judged by “a jury of their peers.”
- A significant majority (58%) believe it is time for a moratorium on the death penalty while the process undergoes a careful review.
- An overwhelming 69% of the public believes that reforms will not eliminate all wrongful convictions and executions.
- Almost all Americans (87%) believe that an innocent person has already been executed in recent years, and over half (55%) say that fact has affected their views on the death penalty.
- Among those who had changed their position on the death penalty over the last ten years, more people became opponents of the death penalty than proponents by a margin of 3 to 2. Support has been lessened because of the many DNA exonerations that have occurred.

The poll sample included 1,000 adults nationwide and the margin of error was +3.1%.   
(Posted June 9, 2007). [Read the Report and Press Release](/article.php?did=2349). See also [Reports](/article.php?did=404&scid=45), [Innocence](/innocence-and-death-penalty?did=412&scid=6), and [Public Opinion](/public-opinion-about-death-penalty?did=209&scid=23).