More Americans favor the death penalty for murder than oppose it, but few support live-streaming executions, according to the latest Economist / YouGov Poll.
Three-quarters (75%) of Republicans favor the death penalty for murder, and Independents are almost twice as likely to favor it as to oppose it (48% vs. 27%). But the death penalty is unpopular among Democrats, only 29% of whom support the death penalty for murder while 52% oppose it. Overall, 51% of Americans favor it, 30% are opposed, and 19% aren't sure.
Republicans who are MAGA supporters are slightly more likely to favor the death penalty for murder than are non-MAGA Republicans (80% vs. 70%). Among all Americans, non-college graduates are more supportive of the death penalty than are college graduates (54% vs. 45%).
Both Protestants and Roman Catholics are more likely to favor than to oppose the death penalty for murder by a two-to-one margin. Agnostics and those who say their religion is "nothing in particular" are also more likely to favor than to oppose it, while most atheists oppose the death penalty (27% favor and 59% oppose).
There's more division about how often the death penalty should be imposed. 19% of Americans say it should never be imposed, while 20% say it should be used less often, 34% more often, and 28% with the current frequency.
Most MAGA Republicans (63%) want the death penalty to be used more often, while 23% would not change the frequency of death sentences. Non-MAGA Republicans are evenly divided between saying the death penalty should be used more often and at the current rate (41% each).
Twice as many Americans who support the death penalty for murder want the death penalty used more often (62%) than at the current frequency (31%); only 6% want it used less often. The vast majority of those who oppose the death penalty for murder want it used either never (55%) or less often (35%).
But public livestreams of executions are very unpopular. Only 18% of Americans strongly or somewhat favor having executions broadcast live to the public, while 69% oppose this.
The poll was conducted after the U.S. military announced plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad. The poll didn't ask specifically about Hasan's case.
Opposition to livestreamed executions is widespread. More oppose than favor this among all Republicans (52% oppose and 31% favor), MAGA Republicans (48% vs. 36%), and death penalty supporters (55% vs. 32%). Almost all Democrats (87%) and death penalty opponents (92%) oppose livestreamed executions, as do most Independents (67%) and non-MAGA Republicans (62%).
If the death penalty has to be imposed, Americans are more likely to say lethal injection should be used (46%) than support using firing squads (31%), electrocution (20%), or hanging (18%). 16% say none of those methods should be used.
Image: Getty (Anna Moneymaker / Staff)
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