Most Americans Believe Capital Punishment Could Execute an Innocent Person
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Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The death penalty is one of those hot-button issues about which it’s often hard to change the mind of someone who has a fixed opinion on whether capital punishment is justified.
However, a new Pew Research Center survey of 1,500 U.S. adults suggests there is some common ground, even among death penalty proponents, regarding opposition to the death penalty.
For instance, two-thirds of death penalty advocates agree with 85 percent of opponents that there is the possibility of executing an innocent person.
Further, while close to 80 percent of death penalty opponents believe the ultimate punishment doesn’t deter crime, nearly half who support executions also feel that way.
Still, a wide gap remains in one crucial area: 90 percent who back capital punishment feel it’s morally justified, while only about a quarter of death penalty opponents feel the same.
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