In the latest ABCNEWS.com poll, just more than six in 10 Americans favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, unchanged from January. Still, support for the death penalty is at its lowest level in 20 years, down from a high of 77 percent in 1996.
     An ABCNEWS poll in January found that support for the death penalty slips further, to just under half of the public, when life in prison without parole is offered as an alternative.

Change of Heart?
Recent research that documents flaws in the death penalty system doesn’t change the opinions of most Americans. When told about a recent Columbia University study detailing such flaws, 58 percent said it didn’t have an impact on their views. Twenty-five percent said it made them more likely to oppose the death penalty, but half of them were opposed to it in the first place. An additional 13 percent said the results made them more likely to support the death penalty, but again, almost all of these people already supported it.
     The Columbia University study, released earlier this month, found that more than two-thirds of death penalty sentences appealed from 1973 through 1995 were overturned by higher courts because of flaws in the way the cases were investigated or tried.

Death and Texas
Despite the large number of executions in Texas while George W. Bush has been governor, a substantial portion of the public is unaware of his handling of the death penalty. While a plurality approves of Bush’ handling of the issue, 38 percent-25 percent, almost four in 10 don’t feel they know enough to say one way or the other.
     Not surprisingly, the views of those expressing an opinion are closely tied to their overall views of the death penalty. Those who favor the death penalty tend to approve of Bush’s handling of it and those who oppose it disapprove.
    

Bush's Handling Of the Death Penalty
Approve	38%
Disapprove	25
No opinion	37

While Bush has been governor, 134 inmates have been executed, including three last week. Another death row inmate is scheduled to be put to death on Thursday.
     Even with all the publicity on capital punishment, it tends to rank low on the public’s list of issue priorities. In an April ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll, 37 percent called handling the death penalty “very important” in deciding how to vote for president, ranking it 14th out of 15 issues tested.

Party Lines
Support for the death penalty runs highest among Republicans (77 percent in favor), but it’s also supported by majorities of independents (62 percent) and Democrats (55 percent) alike.
     Men tend to favor the death penalty more than women do; whites are much more apt to favor it than are blacks; and those with higher incomes are more likely to support it than are those who make less.