Slim Majority of Americans Think Death Penalty Applied Fairly in This Country

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The recent execution of Texas death row inmate Gary Graham has brought the death penalty to the forefront of the presidential campaign. Many believed that Graham was innocent of the murder for which he was executed, and felt that he would have been found not guilty had he received better legal representation during his trial. The issue raised by Graham's case is not whether the death penalty should be allowed -- both likely Republican nominee George W. Bush and likely Democratic nominee Al Gore support it-- but whether or not it is applied fairly in this country. The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted June 23-25, shows that a majority of Americans -- 51% -- believe that the death penalty is applied fairly, while 41% believe it is applied unfairly.

Bush's Handling of Death Penalty Not Likely to be an Issue in Election
Several opinion leaders and death penalty opponents criticized Bush for not stopping the Graham execution. The poll shows, however, that a plurality of Americans (49%) approve of the way Bush in general has handled death penalty cases as governor of Texas, while about one in three Americans (30%) disapprove of Bush's handling of death penalty cases in his state. The remaining 21% have no opinion. Even so, many Americans believe that an innocent person has been put to death in Texas since Bush became governor of Texas five years ago. Forty-six percent say that an innocent person has been executed during Bush's tenure as governor, while 26% say this has not happened, with 28% unsure. By comparison, 80% of Americans say that an innocent person has been executed in the United States over the same time period.

Getting to the political heart of the matter, most Americans (68%) say that Bush's handling of the death penalty will not affect their likelihood of voting for him for president. Only 18% percent of Americans say Bush's handling of these cases will make them less likely to vote for him, and 10% say it will make them more likely to vote for him, which suggests a small but net-negative influence of this issue on Bush's electoral appeal.

The relative lack of importance of the issue is reinforced by the fact that Americans are still not clear on where the candidates stand. Despite the publicity surrounding the Graham case, 42% of Americans in a Gallup poll conducted May 22-25 say they are unsure about Bush's position on the death penalty. Just over half, 55%, correctly say he favors it while 2% incorrectly say he opposes it. Americans are even more in the dark about where Al Gore stands on the death penalty at this stage in the campaign, perhaps due to the fact that he has not publicly discussed the issue very much. Over two-thirds of Americans are unsure of Gore's position on the issue (67%), while 15% correctly say he favors it but a nearly equal proportion (17%) incorrectly say he opposes it.

Support for Death Penalty Holds Steady
The latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 66% of Americans support the death penalty, while 26% oppose it. These numbers are unchanged from a poll conducted in February of this year, which shows that the recent attention to the issue has not changed Americans' minds. However, support today is lower than in previous years.

Support for the death penalty is closely tied to whether or not one believes it is applied fairly in this country. The overwhelming majority of those who think it is applied fairly --86% -- support the death penalty. Those who think it is applied unfairly are split, with 47% opposing capital punishment and 44% favoring it.

Men are more likely to favor the death penalty than are women, by a 71% to 61% margin. Conservatives (74%) and Republicans (81%) are much more likely to favor the death penalty than are liberals and Democrats (both 53%).

The poll also shows that a majority of Americans who support the death penalty do so with reservations -- 52% -- while 43% of supporters express no reservations. The net result is that 28% of Americans support the death penalty unconditionally, 37% support it with reservations, and 26% oppose it outright.

Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with randomly selected national samples of 1,021 adults, 18 years and older, conducted June 22-25, 2000, and 1,020 adults, 18 years and older, conducted June 23-25, 2000. For results based on either sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?

 

	For	Against	No opinion
	%	%	%
2000 Jun 23-25	66	26	8
2000 Feb 14-15	66	28	6
99 Feb 8-9	71	22	7
95 May 11-14	77	13	10
94 Sep 6-7	80	16	4
91 Jun 13-16	76	18	6
88 Sep 25-Oct 1	79	16	5
88 Sep 9-11	79	16	5
86 Jan 10-13	70	22	8
85 Jan 11-14	72	20	8
85 Nov 11-18	75	17	8
81 Jan 30-Feb 2	66	25	9
78 Mar 3-6	62	27	11
76 Apr 9-12	66	26	8
72 Nov 10-13	57	32	11
72 Mar 3-5	50	41	9
71 Oct 29-Nov 2	49	40	11
69 Jan 23-28	51	40	9
67 Jun 2-7	54	38	8
66 May 19-24	42	47	11
65 Jan 7-12	45	43	12
60 Mar 2-7	53	36	11
57 Aug 29-Sep 4	47	34	18
56 Mar 29-Apr 3	53	34	13
53 Nov 1-5	68	25	7

(IF "favor death penalty"): Do you support the death penalty with reservations or without reservations?

 

	Support without reservations	Support, with reservations	Do not support	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	28%	37	26	9

Generally speaking, do you believe the death penalty is applied fairly or unfairly in this country today?

 

	Fairly	Unfairly	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	51%	41	8

Whose position on the death penalty comes closer to your view-- [ROTATED: Al Gore's position (or) George W. Bush's position]?

 

	Gore's position	Bush's position	BOTH/ NEITHER (VOL.)	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	23%	34	10	33

Based on what you have heard or read, do you approve or disapprove of how George W. Bush has handled death penalty cases as governor of Texas?

 

	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	49%	30	21

And, does the way Bush has handled the death penalty in Texas make you more likely to vote for him for president, less likely to vote for him, or will it have no effect on your vote?

 

	More likely	Less likely	No effect	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	10%	18	68	4

How often do you think that a person has been executed who was, in fact, innocent of the crime he or she was charged with -- do you think this has EVER happened in the past five years, or do you think it has NEVER happened?

BASED ON – 520 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; +/- 5 PERCENTAGE POINTS

 

	Yes, in the past 5 years	No, never happened	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	80%	14	6
2000 Feb 14-15**	91%	6	3
1995 May 11-14**	82%	14	4

 

**Original Question Wording:How often do you think that a person has been sentenced to the death penalty who was, in fact, innocent of the crime he or she was charged with -- do you think this has EVER happened in the past twenty years, or do you think it has NEVER happened?

 

(If "ever happened")Just your best guess, about what percent of people convicted to serve the death penalty are really innocent?

BASED ON – 417 -- NATIONAL ADULTS; +/- 5 PERCENTAGE POINTS

 

0	1
1-5%	41
6-10%	16
11-20%	11
21-30%	7
31-40%	3
41-50%	7
51% +	4
No opinion	10
Mean	14.0
Median	6.0

Since George W. Bush became governor of Texas in 1995, how often do you think that a person in Texas has been executed who was, in fact, innocent of the crime he or she was charged with -- do you think this has EVER happened since Bush became governor, or do you think it has NEVER happened?

BASED ON – 500 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B; +/- 5 PERCENTAGE POINTS

 

	Yes, since Bush governor	No, never happened	No opinion
2000 Jun 23-25	46%	26	28

(If "ever happened")Just your best guess, about what percent of people administered the death penalty in Texas since 1995 were really innocent?

BASED ON – 231 -- NATIONAL ADULTS; +/- 7 PERCENTAGE POINTS

 

0	1
1-5%	39
6-10%	13
11-20%	8
21-30%	4
31-40%	3
41-50%	5
51% +	6
No opinion	21
Mean	16.5
Median	10.0

[ROTATED]

As far as you know, does George W. Bush favor or oppose the death penalty, or are you unsure?

 

	Favor	Oppose	Unsure	No opinion
2000 Jun 22-25	55%	2	42	1

As far as you know, does Al Gore favor or oppose the death penalty, or are you unsure?

 

	Favor	Oppose	Unsure	No opinion
2000 Jun 22-25	15%	17	67	1