Support for Death Penalty Declines in Houston, Texas, As Population Diversifies

A recent sur­vey by the Kinder Institute of Houston, Texas, found that more than two-thirds (69%) of area res­i­dents pre­ferred alter­na­tive sen­tences over the death penal­ty, and that num­ber is grow­ing as the pop­u­la­tion becomes more diverse. The sur­vey asked whether per­sons con­vict­ed of first-degree mur­der should receive a death sen­tence, life in prison with­out parole, or life with the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole after 25 years. Only 28% of respon­dents chose the death penal­ty. Life with­out parole was the most pop­u­lar option, receiv­ing 39% sup­port, while life with the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole was sec­ond with 29%. Just four years ago, com­bined sup­port for alter­na­tive sen­tences was only 54%. The Kinder report not­ed that in the past three decades the Houston area has been trans­formed ​“into the most eth­ni­cal­ly and cul­tur­al­ly diverse large met­ro­pol­i­tan region in the nation.” Whites now con­sti­tute a minor­i­ty in every age demo­graph­ic except those 65 and old­er. This grow­ing diver­si­ty may be a fac­tor in chang­ing atti­tudes about the death penal­ty, as pub­lic opin­ion polls con­sis­tent­ly show low­er sup­port for the death penal­ty among blacks and Latinos than among whites. In the past, Harris County (Houston) had pro­duced more exe­cu­tions than any oth­er U.S. coun­ty, but in recent years there has been a dra­mat­ic decline in death sentences.

(S. Klineberg, ​“The 33^rd Kinder Institute Houston Area Survey: The Changing Face of the Houston Region,” Kinder Institute for Urban Research, April 24, 2014). See Public Opinion and Race.