(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in the United States are in favour of capital punishment for specific crimes, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 65 per cent of respondents support the death penalty for persons convicted of murder.

Since 1976, 1,015 people have been put to death in the United States, including 11 during 2006. More than a third of all executions have taken place in the state of Texas. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia do not engage in capital punishment, and a moratorium on executions has been issued in Illinois.

Earlier this month, South Carolina state senator David Thomas proposed the death penalty for repeat child molesters, declaring, "We see this as a historic moment. This is the perfect opportunity for South Carolina to be on the forefront. Let's force the Supreme Court to take a look at this."

In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a convicted criminal to death for a sexual offence is unconstitutional. No person has been executed in the U.S. for a sexual offence since 1964.

Polling Data

I'd like to get your views on some issues that are being discussed in this country today. All in all, do you strongly favour, favour, oppose, or strongly oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?

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