Death Penalty Support Dips Below 50% in US for First Time Since 1971, Poll Reveals

A new Gallup poll indicates that support for the death penalty in the United States has fallen below 50 percent, a significant milestone marking the first time the practice has lost majority backing since 1971. The poll, released on Tuesday, found that 49 percent of respondents favor capital punishment for those convicted of murder, the lowest figure recorded since 1966. Conversely, 45 percent of people expressed opposition to the death penalty.

Gallup stated, “While statistically similar to last year’s 52 percent, the latest update marks the first time support has been below the majority level since 1971, when it was also at 49 percent.” The decline in support over recent decades is attributed to growing concerns regarding fairness, racial bias, high costs, botched executions, and the potential for executing innocent individuals. Furthermore, extensive research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of capital punishment as a crime deterrent.

The poll also highlighted significant divisions based on age and political affiliation. While 54 percent of individuals aged 50 and older support the death penalty, this figure drops to 39 percent among those under 30. Among political groups, 73 percent of Republicans favor capital punishment, compared to 50 percent of independents and 28 percent of Democrats. However, support within all these groups has decreased over the past three decades, with Republicans seeing an 11-point drop, independents a 29-point drop, and Democrats a substantial 47-point drop since 1994, a period characterized by tough-on-crime policies in the US.

During that era, a punitive approach to criminal justice, supported by both major parties, led to the US becoming one of the world's most prolific jailers and an increase in crimes eligible for execution. Recent protests for racial justice have reignited debates about the legacy of policies from that period, including the death penalty.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit research group, 27 US states currently retain the death penalty, while 23 have abolished it, and four have temporarily halted executions through executive action. Many states that still have capital punishment on their statutes have not carried out an execution in years, and protracted appeals processes often result in death row inmates spending years or even decades awaiting their fate.

President Donald Trump stands as an exception to the general trend away from capital punishment, having overseen a significant increase in federal executions during his first term and indicating a continuation of this policy if re-elected. The occurrence of botched executions, such as the case of Christa Pike in Tennessee last month involving a failed lethal injection, has further fueled questions about whether the practice violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.