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FAVOR THE DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER (GSS)

percent of adults who say they favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder · 1974–2024 · neither direction is "better" · Computed from NORC General Social Survey cumulative public microdata, 1972–2024
62%
2024 (latest)
66%
1974
80%
high · 1994
57%
low · 2021
−3.8 pts
since 1974
50 YearsSince 200010 Years5 Years1 Year
58%59%61%63%2021202220232024
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. What people believe: GSS variable CAPPUN, "Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?" Value is the weighted percent answering favor (code 1), weight WTSSPS. Years with fewer than 200 weighted responses are dropped. Share is weighted target / weighted valid responses ×100, rounded to one decimal; missing responses excluded. 2021 pandemic push-to-web collection; 2022/2024 mixed-mode compared with earlier in-person surveys. Ballot rotation and skipped survey years cause gaps; interpret cross-mode changes cautiously. Breaks: 2021 pandemic push-to-web collection; 2022/2024 mixed-mode compared with earlier in-person surveys. Ballot rotation and skipped survey years cause gaps; interpret cross-mode changes cautiously.
Sources

Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:

Data
YearFavor the death penalty for murder (GSS)Change
202462%+0.6 pts
202262%+4.8 pts
202157%−7.5 pts
201864%+2.8 pts
201661%−4.3 pts
201466%−0.9 pts
201267%−1.4 pts
201068%+0.8 pts
200867%−2.0 pts
200669%+1.4 pts
200468%−2.4 pts
200270%−0.5 pts
200071%−3.4 pts
199874%−3.9 pts
199678%−2.2 pts
199480%+2.0 pts
199378%+1.6 pts
199177%−2.8 pts
199079%+1.5 pts
198978%+1.0 pts
198877%+3.4 pts
198774%−3.0 pts
198677%−2.2 pts
198579%+2.4 pts
198476%−1.8 pts
198378%−0.2 pts
198278%+7.9 pts
198070%−0.6 pts
197871%−1.3 pts
197772%+3.2 pts
197669%+4.6 pts
197565%−1.4 pts
197466%
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