A majority of Americans still support the death penalty, despite the outcry raised by inhumane injection practices and the botched execution in Oklahoma earlier this year.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 63 percent of Americans support the death penalty for murderers, with “an eye for an eye” as the most commonly cited justification. Most–64 percent—do not think the death penalty acts as a deterrent to crime or lowers the murder rate.
American opinions on the death penalty have not shifted in the past several years, although less Americans have favored the death penalty in recent years than did in the 1980s and 1990s.
Nevertheless, Americans only slightly favor the death penalty over life imprisonment when given the choice between the two punishments, 50 to 45 percent. And only a small majority think the death penalty is applied fairly today, versus unfairly—51 to 42 percent.
Among those who do not support the death penalty, “It is wrong to take a life” was the most common reason for opposition.
It’s clear that American views on the death penalty are complex. In 2009, for example, while Americans supported the death penalty by an even stronger majority, at 65 percent, a similar majority also said they believed someone had been wrongly sentenced to die in the past five years.
Young people are generally thought less likely to back the death penalty: in 2013, Gallup found support for the death penalty declined more among young adults than those 55 and older.
