Gallup: Support for death penalty at 40-year low

theGRIO REPORT - And while a majority, 60 percent, still favor capital punishment, over the last twenty years there has been a slow but steady erosion in that number...

TheGrio Staff

Oct 30, 2013

Support for the death penalty has hit a 40-year low, according to a new poll released by Gallup.

And while a majority, 60 percent, still favor capital punishment, over the last twenty years there has been a slow but steady erosion in that number.

In 1994 the pro-death penalty number hit a high of 80 percent and it was as high as 69 percent just six years ago.

“The current era of lower support may be tied to death penalty moratoriums in several states beginning around 2000 after several death-row inmates were later proven innocent of the crimes of which they were convicted,” Gallup managing editor Jeffrey M. Jones wrote. “More recently, since 2006, six states have repealed death penalty laws outright, including Maryland this year.”

Only once since Gallup began tracking these numbers back in 1937 have the anti-death penalty numbers surpassed the pro. That was in 1966, interestingly the same the year Miranda rights were instituted. Back then 47 percent of Americans opposed executions, while 42 percent backed them.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelming support the death penalty at 81 percent. Independents match the national average at 60 percent approval. While Democrats are the least enthusiastic at 47 percent.

Also, Americans by only a relatively close margin believe the death penalty is applied fairly. Fifty-two percent say yes and 40 percent say no.

Meanwhile, 44 percent of the country says the death penalty is not imposed enough, 26 percent say its used the right amount, and 22 percent say it’s used too often.

What do these results mean? According to Gallup, “18 states do not allow the death penalty, and six of those bans have occurred since 2006.” Their findings suggest that the anti-death penalty trend is continuing to pick up steam and “could be part of a broader shift to more politically liberal positions on social issues, including legal gay marriage and legal marijuana use.”