According to new polling analysis from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, support for the death penalty among the general public has dropped to 62% (August 2007), down from a high of 80% support in the mid-1990s. Among black respondents, 51% opposed the death penalty and only 40% were in favor. Hispanics were about evenly split with 48% in favor of the death penalty and 47% opposed. Eighty-two (82%) percent of conservative Republicans support the death penalty, but only 41% of liberal Democrats. Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants had the highest support – 74%.
(See Pew Forum, December 19, 2007). See Public Opinion. In polls that ask respondents to compare the death penalty with a sentence of life without parole, support for the death penalty is considerably lower, and often below support for full life sentences.
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). PUBLIC OPINION: Support for Death Penalty Weak Among Blacks and Hispanics. Retrieved October 3, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-support-for-death-penalty-weak-among-blacks-and-hispanics
- Death Penalty Information Center. “PUBLIC OPINION: Support for Death Penalty Weak Among Blacks and Hispanics.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 3, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-support-for-death-penalty-weak-among-blacks-and-hispanics.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “PUBLIC OPINION: Support for Death Penalty Weak Among Blacks and Hispanics.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-support-for-death-penalty-weak-among-blacks-and-hispanics. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.
