Pew Poll Finds Opposition to Death Penalty Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Further analy­sis of a recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that sup­port for the death penal­ty was sig­nif­i­cant­ly low­er among some racial and eth­nic minori­ties than for the gen­er­al pop­u­la­tion. More Hispanics oppose the death penal­ty (50%) than sup­port it (40%), and the same is true of African Americans, with only about a third (36%) favor­ing cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment and a major­i­ty (55%) oppos­ing it. Democrats are about even­ly split, with 45% in favor and 47% opposed, while 71% of Republicans sup­port it. Black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics were among those most in oppo­si­tion to cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment (58% and 54% opposed, respec­tive­ly). Support was low­er among younger Americans; for those in the age group 18 – 29, only 51% sup­port­ed the death penal­ty. Overall, 55% of Americans in the poll sup­port­ed the death penal­ty, the low­est lev­el since Pew began polling on this ques­tion in 1996. Pew said greater pub­lic aware­ness of wrong­ful con­vic­tions and low­er crime rates may be part­ly respon­si­ble for the declin­ing sup­port of capital punishment. 

(D. DeSilver, ​“Lower sup­port for death penal­ty tracks with falling crime rates, more exon­er­a­tions,” Pew Research Center, March 28, 2014; ​“Shrinking Majority of Americans Support Death Penalty,” Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project, March 28, 2014). See Public Opinion and Innocence.