Most Britons Support Reinstating the Death Penalty for Murder
More than half of respondents think capital punishment would be a better approach to deal with convicted murderers than life imprisonment.
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(08/23/11) -
A majority of people in Great Britain would welcome the reinstatement of the death penalty, and more than half regard it as a more suitable punishment for murderers than life imprisonment, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
The online survey of a representative national sample of 2,039 British adults also shows that the public is interested in seeing this issue debated in Parliament.
Across Great Britain, three-in-five respondents (59%) believe the death penalty is sometimes appropriate, while 22 per cent believe the practice is never appropriate and 13 per cent think capital punishment is always appropriate.
Two thirds of Britons (65%) support reinstating the death penalty for murder in Great Britain, while three-in-ten (28%) oppose this course of action. Men (68%), respondents aged 35-to-54 (66%) and those over the age of 55 (67%) are more likely to endorse the change.
The respondents who voice support for reinstating the death penalty in Great Britain believe that, if a convicted murderer has taken a life, the death penalty fits the crime (68%) and also that capital punishment would serve as a deterrent for potential murderers (also 68%). More than half of death penalty supporters also think reinstatement would save taxpayers money and the costs associated with having murderers in prison (56%). In addition, 45 per cent of these respondents think the death penalty would provide closure to the families of murder victims, and 25 per cent think that murderers cannot be rehabilitated.
Conversely, the people who voice opposition for reinstating the death penalty in Great Britain are primarily concerned with the possibility of a person being wrongly convicted and then executed (83%) and also believe that it is wrong to take a murderer’s own life as punishment (55%). Other reasons cited for opposing the death penalty are that it would not serve as a deterrent for potential murderers (41%), that murderers should do their time in prison as indicated by a judge (34%), and that murderers can be rehabilitated (16%).
When asked which of two approaches they would prefer as a punishment for convicted murderers in Great Britain, more than half of respondents (52%) select the death penalty, while one third (35%) choose life imprisonment. Once again, men, middle-aged respondents and older respondents are more likely to call for the death penalty than women and younger respondents.
Finally, three-in-four Britons (75%) believe that MPs should debate whether the death penalty should be reinstated, while 18 per cent would not like to see this topic discussed in the House of Commons.
Download Full Methodology Statement
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From August 11 to August 12, 2011, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,039 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
