Many Americans are in favour of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, accord­ing to a poll by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News. 65 % of respon­dents sup­port the death penal­ty for per­sons con­vict­ed of mur­der.

Since 1976, 961 peo­ple have been put to death in the United States, includ­ing 17 dur­ing 2005. More than a third of all exe­cu­tions have tak­en place in the state of Texas. 12 states and the District of Columbia do not engage in cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, and mora­to­ri­ums on exe­cu­tions have been issued in Illinois and Maryland.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that apply­ing the death penal­ty to minors vio­lates the Constitution’s Eight Amendment — which pro­hibits cru­el and unusu­al pun­ish­ment. Before the deci­sion, 19 American states had pro­vi­sions that allowed for the exe­cu­tion of peo­ple younger than 18 years.

Last week, alleged al-Qaeda mem­ber Zacarias Moussaoui plead­ed guilty to con­spir­a­cy charges in a U.S. court. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penal­ty for the only per­son direct­ly judged in con­nec­tion with the 9/​11 attacks. Al-Qaeda oper­a­tives hijacked and crashed 4 air­planes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing near­ly 3,000 peo­ple.

Polling Data

Do you favour or oppose the death penal­ty for per­sons con­vict­ed of mur­der?

Apr. 2005 Jan. 2003 May 2002

Favour: 65% 64% 65%

Oppose: 29% 31% 26%

(sources: TNS/​Washington Post/​ABC News)

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