A review of the relevant literature suggests four main themes relevant to public support for the death penalty (DPS): 1) The effect of public opinion on death penalty law and policy; 2) trends over time in support for the death penalty; 3) socio-demographic correlates of death penalty support, with gender and political orientation emerging as particularly strong predictors of DPS; and 4) theoretical explanations for variations in death penalty support, with models that offer explanations for gender and political orientation variations in DPS particularly salient
.
The effect of public opinion on death penalty law and policy.
Law and policy are influenced by public opinion (Durhan in Stack, 2000). There were many political debates about constitutionality of the death penalty and doubt whether public opinion should be used as an indicator for making death penalty legal (Ellsworth & Gross, 1994). Death penalty was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1972. However, public opinion on death penalty has been increasingly pro-death penalty for four years since 1972. By 1976, the majority of people were for death penalty and the Court decided that death penalty is constitutional (Gregg v. Georgia in Ellsworth & Gross, 1994). .
The death penalty is supported by the public in many other countries, including Germany, Great Britain and others, although, it is not legal in these nations. This is not the case in the United States. In the United States, the government seems to follow public opinion on death penalty. It is possible that if the majority of people become against the use of death penalty, the death penalty might become illegal again (Ellsworth & Gross, 1994).
Trends over time in support for the death penalty .
American support for the death penalty has been varying greatly over the years since 1950s. When Americans were asked if they supported the death penalty for a person who has been convicted of murder, the percentages for support ranged from 42% in 1966 to 80% in 1994.
-Contact Death Penalty Focus. ... -Start a Death Penalty Focus chapter at your school. ... -Support efforts to pass a City Council resolution for a moratorium. ... -Attend national conferences on death penalty organizing. ... Death Penalty Focus can help you find many excellent speakers. ...
The Death Penalty Information Center says that DNA evidence has been used to support seventeen out of 139 exonerations since 1973 (Ruggiero). There are other practical arguments that support opposing the death penalty. ... This adds to the cost and frustration of public support for capital punishment (Costs of the Death Penalty). ... While the Gallup Organization's annual survey showed a 2-to-1 support for the death penalty for murder and 49% said the death penalty was not imposed enough, another poll showed that only 37% believed that the death penalty actually reduced the number of ho...
Research has shown that during the colonial days of the United States, the death penalty was strongly supported and often made a public display. ... Support of the death penalty from society is strong and studies prove that capital punishment is essential for the lowering of the crime rate and for preventing the recurrence of crime. ... Nearly nine out of every ten people support the death penalty in the United States (Vacco 1). ... Outline Thesis: Support of the death penalty from society is strong and studies prove that capital punishment is essential for the lowering of the crime r...
The Death Penalty I. ... The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. ... The deterrence of crime has always been one of the strongest supporting arguments for the death penalty. ... Another strong supporting argument for the death penalty is that it provides justice for the victims of the crime. ... The death penalty is final, irrevocable. ...
The Death Penalty for Juveniles: An Assessment of Public Support. ... The article provided a research based study designed to focus on the characteristics of those who support the death penalty in comparison to those who support its abolishment. ... The article assessed public support of the death penalty for juveniles through this phone survey of two communities. ... The probit regression analysis was conducted to draw conclusions about the sources of support for rehabilitation versus the death penalty. The studies demonstrate the similar characteristics that those who support the death pena...
"One of the earliest written documents that supported the death penalty was the Code of Hammurabi, which was written on stone tablets around 1760 BC " ("Origins of Capital Punishment "). ... The first aspect that comes to mind when talking about the death penalty is the deterrent rate. ... Each execution results, on average, in eighteen fewer murders... " ("Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime? ... When the opposers believe their counterargument is strong, one must consult to the Bible, the book that Christians strongly follow, which supports the death penalty. ... Many supports state that the...
The Death Penalty: Right or Wrong? ... And in 1972 the death penalty was finally illegal. ... The bill that I am doing is called the "Convicted Offender DNA Index System Support Act."" ... Does death penalty deter crime? ... For years people that support the death say that the fear of getting death for death will make people think before they commit a crime. ...
Is there a deterrence factor in the death penalty? ... Abolitionists are those who are adamant about abolishing the death penalty all together and retentionists are those who want to keep the death penalty open as an option in sentencing for capital cases. ... Reiman's adversary Ernest Van Den Haag states, "For however one defines justice, to support it cannot mean less than to favor the least injustice. ... In the book The Death Penalty: For and Against, author Louis P. ... He tells a story about Civilville to demonstrate that the death penalty is a key element to a civilized societ...
