"U.S. Death Penalty Support Stable at 63%; Decade-long decline in support after 2001 seen mostly among Democrats," is the title of the summary report from Gallup on its latest polling. It's written by Lydia Saad. Here's the beginning:
Americans' support for the death penalty as punishment for murder has plateaued in the low 60s in recent years, after several years in which support was diminishing. Sixty-three percent now favor the death penalty as the punishment for murder, similar to 61% in 2011 and 64% in 2010.
Gallup first asked Americans for their views on the death penalty using this question in 1936, and has asked it at least annually since 1999. The latest results come from a Dec. 19-22, 2012, USA Today/Gallup survey, conducted in the first few days after the Newtown, Conn., school shooting massacre.
Although views on the death penalty have been fairly static since 2010, support has been gradually diminishing since the high point in 1994, when 80% were in favor. By 2001, roughly two-thirds were in favor, and since then it has edged closer to 60%.
"Poll: 6 in 10 Americans favor death penalty," is by JoAnne Viviano for the Columbus Dispatch.
A poll released this week shows 63 percent of Americans favor the death penalty for murder convictions.
The results of the 2012 USA Today/Gallup poll of about 1,000 adults are similar to findings from 2011, when 61 percent of respondents favored capital punishment, and 2010, when 64 percent were in favor of the practice.
The most current poll was conducted by phone from Dec. 19-22, within days of the Newtown, Conn., shooting spree that claimed the lives of 28 people, including 20 elementary school children. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Gallup has polled Americans on the death penalty since 1936, when 59 percent agreed with the practice. Support peaked at 80 percent in 1994 and hit a low of 42 percent in the 1960s.
Related posts are in the public opinion polling category index.
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