A recent Harris Interactive poll of over 1,000 American adults found that the number of people who oppose the death penalty has increased since 2003. Thirty-percent (30%) of those sampled oppose the death penalty, an increase of 8 percentage points in the past 5 years. The percentage of respondents who “believe in capital punishment” has dropped significantly since 1997, when 75% supported the death penalty. In 2008, that number had declined to 63%, the lowest number in recent years.

The poll also found that 52% of Americans do not believe that the death penalty deters others from committing murder. Likewise, 95% of those polled stated that they believe that sometimes innocent people are convicted of murder. Among this group, 58% said they would then oppose the death penalty based upon the knowledge that some innocent people are convicted of murder. This represents a strong increase since the year 2000, when only 36% said that cases of innocence would lead them to oppose the death penalty.

(“Over Three in Five Americans Believe in Death Penalty,” Harris Interactive, BusinessWire, March 18, 2008). See Public Opinion and Deterrence.