As America enters the 21st century the role of women in society and at home has changed dramatically. Women participate more in society today than ever before. Therefore it is important to look at their opinions on mainstream controversial issues. Additionally, as political lines have begun to be drawn between men and women as more and more women enter the political arena, it is crucial to examine how and why women differ on certain issues. Capital punishment has jumped to the foreground in America as one of the hottest issues and useful insight could be derived from an analysis of women's views on this issue. The General Social Survey revealed that out of 2832 respondents, 73.3% reported that they were in favor of the death penalty. (GSS, 1998) This data sets a good benchmark for the analysis of women's views on capital punishment. .
However, there are numerous variables that could effect whether or not women are in favor of the death penalty. This study included marital status, education level, and political philosophy. Although there are a multitude of variables that could affect women's views this study attempted to isolate those that have seen more change for women as they have begun to play a larger role in society. Divorce is rampant in America and a single woman may well have different opinions than a housewife. More and more women have advanced degrees which could also influence their view. Finally, as women play a larger role in politics, their political views could have an effect on their opinions. .
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There have been numerous studies all of which attempted to analyze this controversial issue. One of the major topics studies is the number of women on death row. In 1998 there were 3452 individuals on death row in the U.S., 48 of which were women. This study does not directly address this point, but there are women on the juries that convict these defendants so their attitudes can influence who is and is not sentenced to death.
