PUBLIC OPINION: 2012 Gallup Poll Shows Support for Death Penalty Remains Near 40-Year Low

A recent Gallup Poll mea­sured Americans’ abstract sup­port for the death penal­ty at 63%, the sec­ond-low­est lev­el of sup­port for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment since 1978, and a sig­nif­i­cant decline from 1994, when 80% of respon­dents were in favor of the death penal­ty. Gallup not­ed the results of the poll may have been affect­ed by the fact that it was con­duct­ed a few days after the shoot­ings in Newtown, Connecticut. In 2011 Gallup found 61% in sup­port of the death penal­ty, the low­est lev­el in 40 years. When Gallup and oth­er polls offer respon­dents a choice of the prop­er pun­ish­ment for mur­der – the death penal­ty or life in prison with­out parole – the pub­lic is near­ly even­ly split on the ques­tion. Among the groups most sup­port­ive of the death penal­ty in this lat­est Gallup poll were con­ser­v­a­tives, Republicans, men, old­er respon­dents, and those with a high school or less edu­ca­tion. The poll was con­duct­ed December 19 – 22, 2012. The mar­gin of error was +4 per­cent­age points.

(L. Saad, ​“U.S. Death Penalty Support Stable at 63%,” Gallup, January 9, 2013). See Public Opinion.