[REPORT] Americans Supporting Death Penalty Now Waning—Will US Abolish Capital Punishment?

Americans who support the death penalty are now decreasing, as revealed by a new poll conducted by Gallup; an American analytics and advisory firm located in Washington, D.C.

The survey, which was conducted in October, revealed how many U.S. residents see criminal/prisoner execution in the country; if it is administered fairly or not.

[REPORT] Americans Supporting Death Penalty Now Waning—Will US Abolish This Capital Punishment?

(Photo : David McNew/Getty Images)
A protester holds a sign up against a backdrop of palm trees during an anti-death penalty protest on the eve of the second federal execution in nearly four decades June 18,2001 in Santa Ana, CA. Juan Garza, who was sentenced to death by a judge who believes that the death penalty is morally wrong.

Gallup revealed that there's a huge gap between Americans who see the death penalty being implemented fairly and those who don't.

In fact, experts said that this is the highest number that the analytics firm acquired since it started polling the fairness of the death penalty's application in 2000.

Americans Supporting Death Penalty Now Waning

According to Fox News' latest report, the Gallup survey revealed that 50% of Americans think that the U.S. is unfairly administering the death penalty. On the other hand, 47% say capital punishment is fairly implemented.

This just shows that the death penalty's isolation in the United States is further growing. In 2023, the U.S. had 24 executions; the last one was conducted in Oklahoma on Thursday, Nov. 30.

These death penalties happened in only five U.S. states; Missouri, Texas, Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma. The number of states that conducted death penalties is considered to be the lowest in the previous 20 years.

Some experts, including Prof. Catherine Grosso of the Michigan State University's College of Law, said that the declining support for the death penalty could be attributed to more younger Americans questioning the U.S. criminal justice system.

Grosso said that more U.S. citizens doubt the justice system in the U.S., especially after the controversial incident in which George Floyd was killed by a police officer after stepping on his neck.

Will Declining Support Lead To Death Penalty Abolition?

(Photo : Mike Simons/Getty Images)
A view of the death chamber from the witness room at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility shows an electric chair and gurney August 29, 2001 in Lucasville, Ohio. The state of Ohio is one of the few states that still uses the electric chair, and it gives death row inmates a choice between death by the electric chair or by lethal injection.

As of writing, it is hard to determine if the U.S. will decide to abolish the death penalty because of declining support from Americans.

This is because some states are reviving capital punishment and even introducing new methods to execute criminals eligible for the death penalty.

The Guardian recently reported that Florida's revival of the death penalty is among the reasons why executions in the U.S. reached 24, which is higher than in 2022 (18 death penalties).

But, it is possible for the death penalty to be eradicated by the U.S. government.
"There are some scholars who are optimistic the death penalty will be totally eradicated pretty soon," said University of Nebraska-Lincoln Law Prof. Eric Berger.

"I think what's more likely is it's going to continue to decline. But I think it's less likely that in the foreseeable future, it'll totally disappear," he added.