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, with the exception of Republicans sixty and older, where support for the death penalty rose by 2%. Public support of the death penalty peaked in 1994, with 80% of Americans in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder, which roughly correlates with the peak in the number of executions in the United States.

A generational divide in Gallup’s polling also shows that more than half of young U.S. adults — millennials and Generation Z, ages 18 through 43— oppose the death penalty, while approximately six in ten adults in the older generations — Silent Generation, Generation X, and baby boomers — favor the death penalty. This generational gap has been widening every year for the past 20 years, according to Gallup. Since 2000, support for the death penalty among millennials (ages 28 to 43) has fallen 25%. Gallup only began collecting data on Gen Z over the past four years, but the spread between Gen Z and all other age groups is marked — 58% of Gen Z oppose the death penalty, compared to only 38% of baby boomers and the so-called “silent generation” (which comprise all those 60 years and older). Support for the death penalty also fell among this older cohort, but only by about 6% since 2000.

The political divide between supporters of the two major parties shows an erosion of support for the death penalty among Democrats, Independents, and younger Republicans. Support for the death penalty has remained stable among Republicans over the past 25 years but has shifted among Democrats and Independents. Support for the death penalty among Democrats 60 years old and older has fallen 11% since 2016. Support for the death penalty among younger Democrats dropped even further — 18% since 2016. Among Republicans, support for the death penalty increased by 2% (the only group in the Gallup poll to show an increase in support) while support among younger Republicans fell slightly, by 4%. The trend among Independents followed that of Democrats generally, but not as marked, with support for the death penalty among older Independents falling by 6% and among younger Independents by 10%.