An exam­i­na­tion of recent Gallup sur­veys in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada found that Americans are more sup­port­ive of the death penal­ty than are either Britons or Canadians. An October 2005 poll of Americans mea­sured sup­port for the death penal­ty at 64%, a fig­ure that was sig­nif­i­cant­ly high­er than the 44% sup­port mea­sured in Canada and the 49% sup­port found in Great Britain dur­ing December 2005 polls. Support for the death penal­ty recent­ly declined in both Great Britain and Canada, but remained the same in the U.S. as in 2003. (Nevertheless, American sup­port for the death penal­ty is equal to its low­est lev­el in 27 years.) In all three nations, sup­port for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment was low­est among those who were 18 – 29 years old. (Gallup Poll press release, ​“Death Penalty Gets Less Support From Britons, Canadians Than Americans,” February 20, 2006). 

See Public Opinion and International Death Penalty.

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