---
title: 'Pew Poll: Support for Death Penalty Declining, But Higher in Internet Polling than Phone Polling'
description: 'A new poll by the Pew Research Center reports that support for the death penalty is down in the United States but may be higher than previous estimates…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/pew-poll-support-for-death-penalty-declining-but-higher-in-internet-polling-than-phone-polling'
section: news
date: '2021-06-04T20:12:00-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T15:13:00-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! A new poll by the **Pew Research Center** reports that support for the death penalty is down in the United States but may be higher than previous estimates because some poll respondents are unwilling to admit to a live pollster that they support capital punishment.

Results of Pew’s April 5–11, 2021 on-line survey of U.S. adults, released on June 2, indicated that 60% of respondents said they favored the death penalty for persons convicted of murder, down from the 65% level of support reported by on-line respondents in August 2020 and September 2019. In a phone survey over what Pew said was “a nearly identical period” in August 2020, 52% of adults said that they favored the death penalty.

Pew found that during the last three times in which it surveyed Americans about their views on the death penalty, on-line respondents were 9–12 percentage points more likely to say they favored capital punishment than were respondents who provided responses to a live interviewer on the phone. Pew said that “survey questions that ask about sensitive or controversial topics — and views of the death penalty may be one such topic — may be more likely to elicit different responses across modes.” That difference, it posited, is “perhaps attributable to social desirability bias.”

Courtney Kennedy, Pew’s director of survey research, told the *New York Times* the researchers were “absolutely” convinced that social desirability bias was the most significant factor in the differences between the responses to the on-line and phone surveys. The death penalty, Kennedy said, is “a bit of a touchy subject, it’s kind of sensitive, and admitting that you hold an opinion that has such profound implications for somebody else — not everybody wants to engage with that with a stranger.”

Because of this, Pew has shifted its methodology in death-penalty polling from phone interviews to on-line surveying. However, it said, telephone surveys continue to “provide a basis for examining long-term changes in the public’s attitudes toward the death penalty.” Those surveys, Pew noted, “have shown a steady decline in support for the death penalty in the United States since the mid-1990s.”

The April 2021 on-line survey found that 60% of respondents said that they favored the death penalty, while 39% said they opposed it. Opposition to capital punishment grew by five percentage points compared to on-line surveys taken in August 2020 and September 2019. Strikingly, however, a majority of respondents reported significant problems in the way the death penalty is administered. Although 64% of respondents thought “the death penalty is morally justified” when a person “commits a crime like murder,” most respondents —a nearly four-to-one margin — reported that the death penalty risks executing the innocent. 78% of respondents told Pew that “\[t\]here is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death,” while only 21% responded that “\[t\] here are adequate safeguards to ensure that no innocent person will be put to death.” “Only 30% of death penalty supporters — and just 6% of opponents — say adequate safeguards exist to prevent innocent people from being executed,” Pew said.

Respondents also disagreed with the notion that capital punishment contributes to public safety. 63% of on-line respondents told Pew that “the death penalty does not deter people from committing serious crimes,” compared to 35% who said they believed the death penalty was a deterrent. A majority of U.S. adults surveyed (56%) also said that “Black people are more likely than White people to be sentenced to death for committing similar crimes.” 41% said that “White people and Black people are equally likely” to receive the death penalty for similar crimes. The results reflected significantly different worldviews on this issue depending upon a respondent’s race. 85% of Black adults responded that Black people are more likely than Whites to be sentenced to death for similar crimes, falling to 61% of Hispanic adults and 49% of White adults.

The poll found significant differences in views of the death penalty based upon respondents’ race, age, education, and political affiliation. 64% of Whites and Asians said they supported the death penalty, compared to 56% of Hispanics and 49% of Blacks. Support for capital punishment was highest among adults aged 50-64 (69%), falling to 60% among those over 65, 58% among those aged 30–49, and 51% among those aged 18–29.

Whether respondents favored or opposed the death penalty was inversely related to their level of education. Those with a high school education or less were most likely to favor the death penalty (68%), dropping to 63% among those with some college education, 49% among college graduates, and 44% among those with postgraduate education.

77% of Republicans — and 82% of Republicans who identified themselves as conservative —said they favored the death penalty, with 23% and 17%, respectively, saying they opposed it. 53% of Democrats — and 64% of those identifying themselves as liberal — said they opposed the death penalty, versus 46% and 36%, respectively, who said they favor it.

Andrew Daniller and Jocelyn Kiley, [Death penalty draws more Americans’ support online than in telephone surveys](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/02/death-penalty-draws-more-americans-support-online-than-in-telephone-surveys/), Pew Research Center, June 2, 2021; Giovanni Russonello, [How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty? Depends How You Ask.](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/us/politics/death-penalty-polls.html), New York Times, June 2, 2021; [Most Americans Favor the Death Penalty Despite Concerns About Its Administration](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/02/most-americans-favor-the-death-penalty-despite-concerns-about-its-administration/), Pew Research Center, June 2, 2021; Palash Ghosh, [Support For Death Penalty Slips In U.S., But Remains High Among Whites And Republicans](https://www.forbes.com/sites/palashghosh/2021/06/03/support-for-death-penalty-slips-in-us-but-remains-high-among-whites-and-republicans/?sh=5be2d6193c37), Forbes, June 3, 2021

Download the Pew Research Center [report and analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/06/PP_2021.06.02_death-penalty_REPORT.pdf) of the poll and its [topline questionnaire](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/06/PP_2021.06.02_death-penalty_TOPLINE.pdf).