A new poll of registered Texas voters has found that support for the death penalty, while still strong, has fallen significantly over the past decade. A University of Texas/Texas Tribune internet survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted from April 16-22, 2021 found that 63% say they favor keeping the death penalty for people convicted of violent crimes. That number is down from 75% in February 2015 and 78% when the poll began in 2010.
The poll found that fewer Texas voters said they want to keep the death penalty than at any prior time in the poll’s history. The numbers reflect that 19.2% of the electorate who had expressed support for keeping the death penalty in 2010 have changed their minds, nearly one in five prior supporters. Since 2015, 16.0% of those who favored keeping the death penalty — nearly one in six — have changed their minds.
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.83 percentage points.
Ross Ramsey, UT/TT poll: Majority of Texans oppose permitless carry, would ban police chokeholds and taxpayer-funded lobbying, Texas Tribune, May 3, 2021
Read the UT/TT Poll, Summary/Methodology.
