How Many Americans
Support the Death Penalty?
Results of National Surveys in 2019 and 2020
June 2021
Joseph M. Bessette
Alice Tweed Tuohy Professor of Government and Ethics
J. Andrew Sinclair
Assistant Professor of Government
Department of Government
Claremont McKenna College1
850 Columbia Avenue, Kravis Center 432
Claremont, CA 91711-6420
roseinstitute.org
roseinstitute.org/crime-justice
roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?
1
D
o Americans favor the death penalty for the crime of murder? According to Gallup and the
Pew Research Center, two major polling organizations that regularly ask Americans this
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



penalty for a person convicted of murder?” Although Pew gives more options to measure level

favor, oppose or strongly oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?” Most


most murders
”average” murder —aggravated murders

3
Someone, for example,




—— even though







Although polling organizations occasionally ask Americans whether they support the death
penalty for a particular oender —

—
survey that polled Americans on their support for the death penalty for a variety of specic
types of aggravated murder
4

capital punishment, we devised a series of questions on the death penalty that were included in


roseinstitute.org

Survey design









use the ultimate punishment for most or all murders and those who would use it only for the most


 The respondents were divided into four groups




what comes to mind when they think of murder victims and their families, and then they were

asked to list what comes to mind when they think about the possibility of an innocent person
being executed








General support for the death penalty

large majorities supported the death



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
roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?
3
all of them

Table 1. Support for the death penalty for murder
June 2019 October 2020
Respondents
only


Respondents
only


Support for most or all types of
murder
   
Support only for the most aggravated
murders
   

murder
   
Did not answer death penalty
questions
—

—




   
Survey margin of error  
Impact of political and demographic characteristics

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


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


party identication and political ideology




political ideology
roseinstitute.org
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







Table 2. Support for the death penalty: Party and Ideology
June 2019 October 2020
Support
for most
or all types
of murder
Support
only for
the most
aggravated
murders

for most
or all types
of murder
Support
for most
or all types
of murder
Support
only for
the most
aggravated
murders

for most
or all types
of murder
All respondents
     
Party ID
Democrat      
      
      
Political ideology
      
      
Moderate      
Conservative      
Very
conservative
     






results suggest that for whatever reasons, a secular worldview seems to incline individuals to
oppose the death penalty compared to a religious worldview, even despite the rejection of capital


roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?
educational attainment of individuals, the less likely




Table 3. Support for the death penalty: Religion and Education
June 2019 October 2020
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
All respondents
     
Religion
Protestant      
Catholic      
      
No religion      
Education 
      
Some college      
College graduate      
      
gender, race/ethnicity, and age


Large majorities of all three racial/ethnic groups for which we had data supported the death







roseinstitute.org

Table 4: Support for the death penalty: Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Age
June 2019 October 2020
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
All respondents
     
Gender
Male      
      
Race/Ethnicity


     
Black

     
      
      
Age
      
      
      
      









region




the South, and it is the only region in which every state had the death penalty during the period

roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?
Table 5. Support for the death penalty: Residence
June 2019 October 2020
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
All respondents
     
Region
Northeast      
Midwest      
South      
      
Urban/rural* 
   
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   
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   
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
















among very liberal



roseinstitute.org

Specic aggravated murders




those sentenced to death, and we asked whether the respondent supported the death penalty for



— and two others that are not normally




Table 6. Support for the death penalty for specic types of murder

June
2019
October
2020
Selected at least one aggravated murder  
  
 
—
  
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 
—
 ___ 
 
 ___ 
  
roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?

—86% of
respondents selected at least one aggravated murder









Table 7. Comparing general death penalty support and selection of specic types of
murder
June 2019 October 2020
Selected:
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder
Support for
most or all
types of
murder
Support only
for the most
aggravated
murders

most or all
types of
murder

types of murder
     
No murders      











Varying measures of support for the death penalty




roseinstitute.org















death penalty in principle for certain types of crimes, why are all estimates of support for the
death penalty not equally as high?













disapproved










roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?
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



Table 8: Varying measures of death penalty support: 2019 and 2020 surveys
June 2019 October 2020
National sample


 
  
Supported retaining or adopting the death penalty in their state
—

California sample



—
 
—

the death penalty

—
Supported retaining or adopting the death penalty in their state
—

New York sample



—
 
—

murders”

—
Supported retaining or adopting the death penalty in their state
—






roseinstitute.org

Conclusion















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

that the standard type of death penalty question, asked over and over again for more than half
a century, leaves policymakers, scholars, and citizens with an incomplete picture of support, or

roseinstitute.org
How Many Americans Support the Death Penalty?
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
About the authors
Joseph M. Bessette


The Mild Voice of Reason: Deliberative
Democracy and American National GovernmentAmerican
Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship
By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed: A Catholic Defense of
Capital PunishmentToward a More
Perfect Union: The Writings of Herbert J. Storing 




J. Andrew Sinclair is an Assistant Professor of Government at Claremont





Nonpartisan Primary Election
Reform: Mitigating Mischief
About the Rose Institute of State and Local Government
The Rose Institute of State and Local Government 

promote understanding of state and local government, politics, and policy, with an emphasis on
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