Support for the Death Penalty Falls Below 50% for the First Time Since 1971, Gallup Finds

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (TodayViralUSA) — Fewer than half of Americans now support the death penalty for convicted murderers, the first time backing has slipped below a majority in more than five decades, according to a new Gallup poll.

Forty-nine percent of U.S. adults said they favor capital punishment for murder, while 45% are opposed. The result is statistically similar to last year’s 52%, Gallup said, but it is the first sub-majority reading since 1971, when support also stood at 49%.

Lowest since 1966

Support has not been lower since 1966, when a record-low 42% favored the death penalty. It peaked at 80% in 1994, during a period of high violent crime and tough-on-crime politics, and held at 60% or higher for roughly four decades after executions resumed in 1977.

The survey was conducted Oct. 1–19, beginning the day after the failed execution attempt of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike. Tennessee’s governor has since paused executions pending an investigation.

A widening partisan gap

The decline has been steepest among Democrats. Just 28% now favor the death penalty, down 28 percentage points since 2000 and 47 points from their 1994 high. Half of independents support it.

Republicans remain largely in favor at 73%, though Gallup said that is one of the lowest readings it has recorded for the party, whose support has typically hovered around 80% since the 1990s. The 45-point gap between the parties compares with an average of 25 points between 1990 and 2015.

Generational shift

Majorities of Americans 50 and older still back capital punishment, but only 39% of adults under 30 do. In 2000, 61% of 18- to 29-year-olds were in favor.

“Support for capital punishment may decline further if trends among younger generations continue,” Gallup wrote.

The findings come as states diverge sharply. Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., have abolished the death penalty, U.S. News reported, while others, including Idaho, South Carolina and Louisiana, have expanded execution methods. California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week moved to commute the state’s death sentences, while the Trump administration has pushed to expand federal executions.

The poll is based on telephone interviews with 1,200 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.