Death Penalty Approval Drops to Lowest Level since 1972

[Frodo]

Basically a return to historic norms:

Poll: Death penalty approval drops

By JOSE DELREAL | 10/29/13 4:40 PM EDT

The death penalty for convicted murderers is at its lowest approval rating since 1972, according to a new poll released Tuesday.

The Gallup poll shows that while the majority of American still support the death penalty, the new 60 percent approval rating is the lowest in more than four decades.



Support for the death penalty reached as high as 80 percent in the mid-1990s but has declined since the early 2000s. The drop in support over the last decade may be related to several cases in which death-row inmates were proven to have been wrongfully convicted.

Six of the 18 states that ban the death penalty have instituted those bans since 2006.

Democrats and Republicans are sharply split on the issue, with only 47 percent of Democrats supporting the death penalty while 81 percent of Republicans are in favor. The majority of independents support the death penalty with a 60 percent approval.

The poll of 1,028 adults was conducted Oct. 3 to Oct. 6 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
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Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/poll-death-penalty-approval-drops-99050.html#ixzz2jAJX5sEj