---
title: 'PUBLIC OPINION: American Ambivalence on the Death Penalty'
description: 'A new Rasmussen poll found that 57% of American adults support the death penalty, down from 63% in the organization’s polls dating from 2009. The poll…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-american-ambivalence-on-the-death-penalty'
section: news
date: '2015-02-10T16:35:17-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:40:01-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! A new Rasmussen poll found that 57% of American adults support the death penalty, **[down from 63% in the organization's polls dating from 2009](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/Rasmussen_Reports_DP_Poll.pdf)**. The poll found 26% of respondents opposed the death penalty, with 17% undecided. Respondents were also asked whether they favored the death penalty for **[James Holmes](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-pre-trial-expenses-exceed-5-million-in-aurora-death-penatly-case)** if he is convicted of the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, **Colorado**. Just 55% said they believed Holmes should be sentenced to death, compared to 66% who held that view immediately after the shooting in 2012. Twenty percent were undecided. Rasmussen found that Americans were less supportive of executing a defendant who is mentally ill, an issue in Holmes's case. Respondents also had concerns about wrongful convictions, and were split on whether the death penalty deterred crime.

("[Americans Are Still Pro-Death Penalty](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/february_2015/americans_are_still_pro_death_penalty)," Rasmussen Reports, February 6, 2015; "[Most Still Favor Death Sentence for Colorado Theater Shooter](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/february_2015/most_still_favor_death_sentence_for_colorado_theater_shooter)," Rasmussen Reports, February 5, 2015). See **[Public Opinion](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/policy/public-opinion-polls)** and [**Mental Illness**](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/biases-and-vulnerabilities/mental-illness).