Gallup: In First, More Americans Say Death Penalty Applied Unfairly

More Americans say the death penalty is applied unfairly than fairly, according to a Gallup poll released Monday, the first time this has been the case since the question has been asked. 

Fifty percent of Americans said the death penalty is applied unfairly, while 47% said it is applied fairly, according to the survey, The Hill reported. In contrast, five years ago, the last time the question was asked, 45% of respondents said it was applied unfairly, and 49% said it was applied fairly. Gallup began asking whether the death penalty was applied fairly or unfairly in 2000.

Other results from the Gallup poll include:

• Among respondents, 53% backed the death penalty, the lowest in five decades. In the previous two years support was at 55% and 54%.
• A record-low 32% of Democrats back the death penalty, compared to 35% last year, 34% in 2021, and 39% in 2020. Support overall has fallen among Democrats since the beginning of the century, when 56% of Democrats backed the death penalty. Support among Democrats peaked in 2002 at 65%. 
• Among Republicans, backing for the death penalty has remained consistent since the start of the century. This year GOP support is at 81%, up from 77% in 2022. In 2000, 80% of Republicans supported the death penalty. 
• There has been a decrease in support for the death penalty among independents, with 51% currently backing it, down from 54% last year and 68% in 2000.
• Among Republicans, 68% said the death penalty is applied fairly, compared to 73% who said it was applied fairly in 2018, when the question was last asked. Among Democrats, 28% said it’s applied fairly, compared to 31% in 2018. Among independents, 46% said it’s applied fairly, compared to 47% in 2018.

The poll was undertaken via telephone interviews on October 2-23 among a random sample of 1,009 adults. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is + or - 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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