A Pax Christi USA Backgrounder on Capital Punishment

U.S. OPINION FAVORS ALTERNATIVES

    We often hear that a majority of the U.S. public favors the death penalty.
    However, a number of polls conducted in 1998 suggest that, when given
    alternatives, those who favor the death penalty are actually in the minority.
    Consider these findings:
· A recent Gallup Poll shows that 91% of those polled believed that over the past
    20 years, there has been at least one person sentenced to death who was
    innocent.
· In a poll by the Chicago Tribune, when given the alternative of life without the
    possibility of parole, 43% supported the death penalty and 41% favored life
    without parole. 66% agree with Gov. Ryan's decision to suspend executions
    during review of the state's capital punishment system.
· A University of Connecticut poll found that 55% of respondents don't believe the
    death penalty is a deterrent to murder and nearly 40% believe a black or Hispanic
    defendant is more likely to be sentenced to death than a white defendant.
· An Ohio State University poll found that 57% of Ohioans polled supported an
    alternative to the death penalty to include life with no parole and monetary
    restitution to the family through work in prison industry.

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