American Death Penalty Support Lowest in 55 Years After Botched Execution
Summary
A Gallup poll of 1,200 U.S. adults found that 49% support the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while 45% oppose it. Support fell below a majority for the first time since 1971, after a failed execution in Tennessee drew attention to execution procedures.Key Facts
- Gallup conducted the poll from October 1 through October 19.
- Support for the death penalty fell three percentage points from the previous year.
- Gallup recorded its highest level of support, 80%, in 1994.
- In 1966, support reached a previous low of 42%.
- Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during a failed execution on September 30.
- Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
- Several anti-death-penalty advocates cited the failed execution and public debate over livestreaming executions as factors drawing attention to the issue.
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