Not Everyone Strongly Supports the Death Penalty: Assessing Weakly-Held Attitudes About Capital Punishment

• NCJ Number: 210439
• Journal: American Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2005 Pages: 187-216
• Author(s): James D. Unnever; Francis T. Cullen; Julian V. Roberts
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Based on analyses of responses to two national surveys, this study explored the variables that differentiated respondents with strongly held and weakly held opinions about capital punishment.

Abstract

One dataset was the 2000 National Election Study (NES), which surveyed probability samples of the American voting-age population residing in housing units in the coterminous 48 States. Data for the current study were taken from the responses of 1,555 persons involved in post-election interviews. Three dependent variables were constructed from the NES survey: the contrast between individuals who do not strongly support the death penalty and those who strongly support it; the contrast between individuals who do not strongly oppose capital punishment and those who strongly oppose it; and the contrast between individuals with weakly held attitudes toward the death penalty and those with strongly held opinions. The second dataset was collected in a Gallup phone survey of 1,020 adults (ages 18 and over) in June 2000. This survey yielded a fourth dependent variable: the contrast between individuals who supported capital punishment with reservations and those who opposed it without reservations. Independent variables measured from the two datasets were level of egalitarian beliefs, racial resentment, theological beliefs and religious practices, political ideology, mistrust of government, belief in traditional family values, media influence, race, age, and social class. The results show that some 30 percent of Americans have weakly held sentiments about capital punishment, and 54 percent of Americans who reported support for the death penalty indicated they had reservations about their support. Authoritarians were more likely to be resolute in their opinion, regardless of the position held. Characteristics are noted for persons most likely to be influenced in their opinions by new information or current events. 2 tables and 66 references