(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Most American adults favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, a new public opinion poll by Gallup has found.
The pollster, which has asked the death penalty question every year since 2000, said more Republicans than Democrats support the death penalty.
“While this marks the sixth consecutive year that support for capital punishment is between 54% and 56%, it is below the 60% to 80% readings recorded in the four prior decades between 1976 and 2016,” Gallup wrote.
Support for the death penalty for convicted murders is the highest among GOP voters, at 77%, followed by independents at 54%.
At the same time, nearly two-thirds of Democrats – or 63% – are against executing homicide convicts, while 35% are in favor of it.
The overwhelming majority of Republicans have supported the death penalty yearly since 2000. However, the share of Democrat supporters of executions declined below 50% in 2012.
“Democrats’ support for capital punishment… has varied the most of the three party groups, ranging from 34% to 65% since 2000,” Gallup said.
The pollster noted that the lower overall public support for the death penalty in the United States over the past six years compared with the “40 years prior to that” has resulted from the changing moods of the Democrats.
“The decline since that period is largely owed to Democrats’ diminished support for capital punishment, while Republicans’ support has remained high,” Gallup explained.
The pollster’s latest findings on the public approval for the death penalty for convicted criminals are based on its survey conducted between October 3 and October 20 of this year.
At least 1,000 American adults aged 18 or older from all 50 states and Washington, DC, were polled through phone interviews. The agency uses a “dual-frame design, which includes both landline and cellphone numbers.”
The poll-taking period roughly coincided with the trial of Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who slaughtered 17 people, most of them children, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
“On Oct. 13, the jury in the highly publicized trial spared him the death penalty and instead sentenced him to prison for the rest of his life,” Gallup noted.
“The decision was met with disappointment from many of the victims’ families, who thought the gunman should be put to death,” the pollster added.
While more Republicans than Democrats support the death penalty for convicted murderers, the majority of Americans, 55%, are in favor of it, according to a poll. https://t.co/DnCi1JkbZG pic.twitter.com/Ui16nwTBTg
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 14, 2022
