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Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 09:45:29 AM EST
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A new research study has found that fewer Americans support the death penalty as a result of the growing number of inncents on death row. A whopping 75% believe that an innocent person has been executed in the last five years.

The study is based on a 2003 Gallup poll which shows:

  • 67 percent favor the death penalty.
  • 74.6 percent believe an innocent person has been executed in the past five years.
  • 36.7 percent believe the death penalty is applied unfairly.

The study is published in Criminology & Public Policy, the journal of the American Society of Criminology in Columbus, Ohio

The study notes that in 1986, 61 percent of Americans held the view that the death penalty acts as a deterrent, but that has since dropped to 33 percent.

More analysis of the study is available here.

The authors concluded that an execution of an innocent person would erode, but not erase, national support for the death penalty — which stood at 66 percent in 2000, according to Gallup.

Additionally, they suggested that more than half of the nation will continue to support capital punishment unless Americans come to see wrongful executions as an unavoidable and recurring flaw in the criminal justice system.

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    Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading | 6 comments (6 topical)
    Re: Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 11:37:02 AM EST
    Wonder if that's the same 75% who think Saddam was behind 911? As they used to say in LA when I was growing up: Even da Debil can quotes the scriptures. -C

    Re: Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading (none / 0) (#2)
    by phat on Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 03:29:47 PM EST
    That number usually drops when people are offered an alternative (life without parole). eric

    Re: Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 06:23:35 PM EST
    You can try to find the silver lining as much as you want to and spin it. But it is quite clear that 67%, more than a 2/3 majority of Americans want capital punishment and criminals are being executed, abate at a slow rate.

    Re: Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 06:37:32 PM EST
    No, Cliff - the other 25% are those that still believe in the tooth fairy. People who have come within minutes of being executed have been exonerated, and yet, somehow, magically, all those that were actually executed were innocent. Yes, it must be the tooth fairy arranging all those last minute happy endings.

    Re: Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Feb 13, 2005 at 10:22:56 PM EST
    Should, of course, be, in my post above: ...all those that were actually executed were guilty.

    Re: Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Feb 14, 2005 at 12:46:52 PM EST
    Polls: i always want to know, who the respondents are, and were were the responses garnered from. its that lies, damn lies, and statistics thingy!!!

    Study: Public Demand for Executions Fading | 6 comments (6 topical)