A June 2007 Gallup Poll revealed that, during the past decade, there has been a significant drop in the percentage of whites and blacks who support capital punishment. Among black respondents, opposition to the death penalty has grown from 37% in the mid-1990s to a majority of 56% today. Responses given by white respondents have also shifted during the past decade. In the mid-1990s, 80% of white respondents said that they favored the death penalty, but today that percentage has dropped to 70%. Nationally, support for the death penalty remained at 65%, similar to figures for the past three years, but down significantly from 1994 when 80% supported capital punishment. The Gallup Poll’s most recent survey was conducted from June 4-24, 2007, and included interviews with 2,388 adults nationwide. The margin of error is +5 percentage points.
(Gallup Poll News Service, July 31, 2007). See Public Opinion.