Overall support for the death penalty in the U.S. has fallen to 53 percent, the lowest level in five decades, according to new data
The Gallup study, released Thursday, shows that a majority of Millennials and Gen Z Americans do not support the death penalty. An average of 66 percent supported it from 2000 to 2006, and 61 percent from 2010 to 2016.
The last time support hovered around 50 percent was in 1972, the year the Supreme Court banned the death penalty. The court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, and the following year, a man was executed by firing squad in Utah.
Gallup’s research suggests people classified as Gen Z (ages 12 to 27) are more likely to oppose it than Millennials.
“Younger generations’ exposure to the issue has come when many states had moratoriums on the death penalty or repealed laws that allowed capital punishment,” pollsters wrote in their analysis. “These efforts were often motivated by cases in which death-row inmates were later found innocent of the crime for which they were convicted.”
Support levels also differ by political party.
“The percentage of Republicans in favor of the death penalty has generally held steady over the past 25 years,” they wrote. “The change in attitudes by generational group is thus seen more among political independents and, especially, Democrats.”
Since 1976, the most common methods of execution have been lethal injection, electrocution and lethal gas.
