I suspect that there are also deep regional and demographic differences in death penalty support.
About a fifth of American voters oppose the death penalty in nearly every circumstance: These appear to be the truly committed opponents. About three fifths reliably support the death penalty: they favor it in theory and also want to have a death penalty law in their state. A final fifth of the American electorate approves of the death penalty in some way, in theory, but does not necessarily want the death penalty in their state.
Via the Sentencing Law and Policy Blog.
My feelings about this have changed as I've gotten older. I find the argument that Europeans got smarter partially through unrelenting application of the death penalty for violent crimes convincing. Accordingly, I have shifted to thinking the same rules should apply here in Europe and its fraternal peers/descendant societies. In particular it may help some groups who seem to be afflicted by significantly lower averages for intelligence, at the risk of looking like a genocide. At the same time, I also think that from an ethical perspective, taking someone's life is far more just than placing them into an artfully re-articulated form of slavery. There's more dignity in being executed than involuntarily worked like a dog for years with little to no pay, with rates of recidivism often guaranteeing your return.
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