Around two-thirds of Protestants in the U.S. Views of the death penalty differ by religious affiliation. Majorities of White (63%), Asian (63%) and Hispanic adults (56%) support the death penalty, but Black adults are evenly divided, with 49% in favor and 49% opposed.
Those with less formal education are also more likely to support it: Around two-thirds of those with a high school diploma or less (68%) favor the death penalty, compared with 63% of those with some college education, 49% of those with a bachelor’s degree and 44% of those with a postgraduate degree. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are much more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to favor the death penalty for convicted murderers (77% vs. Opinions about the death penalty vary by party, education and race and ethnicity. About six-in-ten (63%) say the death penalty does not deter people from committing serious crimes, and nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say there is some risk that an innocent person will be executed. adults (56%) say Black people are more likely than White people to be sentenced to death for committing similar crimes. Nine-in-ten of those who favor the death penalty say it is morally justified when someone commits a crime like murder only a quarter of those who oppose capital punishment see it as morally justified.Ī majority of Americans have concerns about the fairness of the death penalty and whether it serves as a deterrent against serious crime. Support for capital punishment is strongly associated with the view that it is morally justified in certain cases. A similar share (64%) say the death penalty is morally justified when someone commits a crime like murder. adults strongly or somewhat favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, according to the April 2021 survey. Here are the questions used from this survey, along with responses, and its methodology.įindings about the administration of the death penalty – including the number of states with and without capital punishment, the annual number of death sentences and executions, the demographics of those on death row and the average amount of time spent on death row – come from the Death Penalty Information Center and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. adults, conducted from April 5 to 11, 2021. The public opinion findings cited here are based primarily on a Pew Research Center survey of 5,109 U.S. This Pew Research Center analysis examines public opinion about the death penalty in the United States and explores how the nation has used capital punishment in recent decades. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976.Īs debates over the death penalty continue in the U.S., here’s a closer look at public opinion on the issue, as well as key facts about the nation’s use of capital punishment. While state-level executions have decreased, the federal government put more prisoners to death under President Donald Trump than at any point since the U.S. But the story is not one of continuous decline across all levels of government. A growing number of states have abolished it, and death sentences and executions have become less common.
Use of the death penalty has gradually declined in the United States in recent decades. At the same time, majorities believe the death penalty is not applied in a racially neutral way, does not deter people from committing serious crimes and does not have enough safeguards to prevent an innocent person from being executed. adults support the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to an April 2021 Pew Research Center survey.
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