Share of Americans who support or oppose the death penalty (2026)

20 points · 11 comments · view on lemmy.world

11 Comments

CheetahHybrid@pawb.social · 9 pts · 96d (1 reply)

I find a lot of people are for the death penalty until I tell them it costs more to execute someone than just keep them in prison for the rest of their lives

Macchi_the_Slime@piefed.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 95d

Yeah, I've noticed that too. A lot of people view the death penalty as "If they're bad enough people, then we shouldn't waste money on feeding and housing them." So if those people learn that it costs more to actually execute someone than it does to just keep them in prison for the rest of their lives, then a lot of them would change their minds.

Norin@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 95d (2 replies)

While I can understand (but fundamentally disagree with) someone who supports the death penalty for certain crimes, I can never get the problem of false convictions out of my head.

False convictions happen, and more often than the average citizen is likely comfortable with. Someone imprisoned for a false conviction can be compensated with money; someone executed for a false conviction cannot be given anything.

Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club · 2 pts · 95d

I mean, USA has like 5 billion imprisoned ppl, ofc they are there unjustly or for random reasons. And that is something that those "50%" know.

(But asking n=1500 such complex questions as y/n most probably isn't ok.)

TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 95d

finishing up Assata Shakur's bio and could not believe how many times the fbi and local police concocted fake stories to charge her.

tristynalxander@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 96d (1 reply)
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DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social · 2 pts · 95d

Then there's the "define the homicide axis"

Are we talking first degrees, mass murderers only, what? Just every homicide?

Fuck that, the cops will try and charge you for homicide for being brown and within a mile of a murder they committed.

Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 95d (2 replies)

It's interesting that the issue is more polarizing for men than women. I wonder why that is.

Cargon@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 95d (1 reply)

The ratio of support:oppose between men and women is nearly identical. It's just that there are more undecided women according to the infographic.

Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 95d

Which means that men are more polarized

TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 95d

the interesting thing is democrats claiming to not favor death penalty yet they really love authoritarian branches who speed death penalty scenarios along by nature.

Telodzrum@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 95d
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DaMonsterKnees@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 95d

Not for nothing, but we once banned it in the states.... and then....