Overview
- A Gallup telephone survey published Tuesday shows 49% of U.S. adults now support the death penalty and 45% oppose it, the lowest measured level since 1971.
- The poll of 1,200 adults was conducted Oct. 1–19 and carries a four percentage‑point margin of error.
- The survey began one day after Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in late September in Nashville, the only known case of an inmate surviving a U.S. lethal injection in recent history.
- High‑profile responses include President Trump canceling a planned live broadcast of Nidal Hasan’s execution and California Governor Gavin Newsom commuting 548 death sentences, while 23 states have abolished the penalty and several others have moratoriums.
- Advocates and some officials say the botched execution, public outcry and recent executive actions could spur more state pauses, reviews of execution methods, and further declines in public backing for capital punishment.