The survey, conducted among 5,109 US adults, found that 60% of American adults favor the use of the death penalty for convicted murderers while only 39% oppose it. Of those in favor, 27% said they were strongly in favor, and 15% described themselves strongly opposed.
The amount of people who support the death penalty, however, is lower than it was in August 2020 when 65% of people answered favorably to the same question.
The survey also found that 78% of Americans are doubtful about whether or not there are adequate safeguards in place to prevent innocent people being put to death, and more than six-in-ten Americans, including about half of the death penalty supporters, say they do not think the penalty deters people from committing serious crimes.
In addition to this, 85% of black adults and 49% of white adults said that black people are more likely to be sentenced to death for committing a crime that white people would not be sentenced to death for.
Support for the death penalty appears to be a partisan issue, and over three-quarters of Republicans or Republican leaning independents support the death penalty being used on people convicted of murder. In contrast, only 46% of Democrats or Democrat leaning independents agree with this statement.
The support for the death penalty largely stems from the belief that it is morally justified for it to be carried out on people who have been convicted of murder. Of the people who said that they are in favor of the death penalty, 90% said that it is morally justified.Despite the strong support that the death penalty still appears to garner, its use in the United States is on the decline, with less people being executed in 2020 than any other year in the last three decades.