Support for the death penalty has dropped to its lowest point in over forty years.
A survey done by Pew Research Center reports that less than half (49 percent) of Americans support the death penalty now. Compare that to March of 2015, when 56 percent of Americans supported it, or the mid-’90s, when 80 percent of Americans supported capital punishment. Today, 42 percent of people oppose the death penalty, the highest number since 1972.
Unsurprisingly, death penalty support varies by age, race, ideology, gender, and religion. Younger people, minorities, Democrats, women, and the "religiously unaffiliated" are more likely to oppose capital punishment. Meanwhile, white people, Republicans, men, people over 30, and evangelical Christians are more likely to support it.
Republicans still favor the death penalty overwhelmingly. Pew reports:
By more than two-to-one, more Republicans (72%) than Democrats (34%) currently favor the death penalty.
Two decades ago, when majorities in both parties favored the death penalty, the partisan gap was only 16 percentage points (87% of Republicans vs. 71% of Democrats).
And, for the first time in decades, independents are as likely to oppose the use of the death penalty (45%) as they are to favor it (44%). The share of independents who support capital punishment has fallen 13 points since last year (from 57%).
The survey showed that a majority of white people (57 percent) are in favor, compared to only 29 percent of blacks and 36 percent of Hispanics. Women are slightly more likely to oppose the death penalty, with 43 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed, while men are significantly more likely to support it (55 percent in favor and 38 percent opposed.)
For more information, check out Pew's new survey results.