A May 2006 Gallup Poll examining American opinion about the death penalty found that when given a choice between the sentencing options of life without parole and the death penalty, only 47% of respondents chose capital punishment, the lowest percentage in two decades. Forty-eight percent favored life without parole for those convicted of murder. The poll also revealed that overall support for the death penalty remains low at 65%, down significantly from 1994 when 80% supported capital punishment.
When asked whether the death penalty deters murder, 64% of those polled stated that it does not; only 34% believe it does deter. This is a dramatic shift from the 1980s and early 1990s, when the majority of Americans still believed that the death penalty prevented murder. 63% of those polled believe that an innocent person has been executed in the past 5 years, an increase over previous results.
(Gallup News Service, June 1, 2006). See Public Opinion and Life Without Parole.
Public Opinion
Mar 11, 2024
![OP-ED: Journalist Recalls Witnessing an Execution and Describes the Importance of Media Witnesses](https://img.dpic-cdn.org/images/Electric_Chair_Virginia.png?w=300&h=300&q=60&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1620346442&s=215d628066fa4184c3697029cf842692)
OP-ED: Journalist Recalls Witnessing an Execution and Describes the Importance of Media Witnesses
Public Opinion
Jul 26, 2023
![NEW RESOURCES: Capital Punishment and the State of Criminal Justice 2023](https://img.dpic-cdn.org/images/ABA-Criminal-Justice-Section-Logo.jpeg?w=300&h=300&q=60&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1628623503&s=8b4d27e15769594ad0ff58fd73477440)
NEW RESOURCES: Capital Punishment and the State of Criminal Justice 2023
Sentencing Alternatives
Oct 13, 2022
![Non-Unanimous Florida Jury Sentences Nikolas Cruz to Life Without Parole for Parkland School Shootings](https://img.dpic-cdn.org/images/MarjoryStonemanDouglasHS.jpg?w=300&h=300&q=60&auto=format&fit=crop&dm=1576795786&s=db118810ddd7f4bcb57a1340617177be)