【皮尤调查 20150416】支持死刑的人越来越少

满仓

【中文标题】支持死刑的人越来越少
【原文标题】Less Support for Death Penalty, Especially Among Democrats
【登载媒体】皮尤调查
【原文链接】http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/16/less-support-for-death-penalty-especially-among-democrats/


支持者和反对者都看到了处死无辜者的风险。



大部分美国人支持对谋杀罪犯处以死刑，但是支持率达到了过去40年里的最低点。皮尤调查中心最新的一项调查显示，56％的人支持对谋杀罪犯判处死刑，38％的人反对。

支持死刑判决的比例比2011年的62％下降了6个百分点。整个80年代和90年代期间，死刑判决的支持率都在70％以上。1996年的调查结果显示，78％的人支持死刑，只有18％的人反对。

这种下降主要来自于民主党人态度的转变。目前，只有40％的民主党人支持死刑，56％的人反对。而在1996年，大部分民主党人都支持死刑（71％对25％）。



共和党内部的态度变化不大，从1996年的87％下降到77％。支持死刑的独立党派认识比例下降了22个百分点，从79％下降到57％。

皮尤调查中心在3月25日到29日期间对1500名成年人进行的调查中，发现很多人在质疑死刑判决的依据，以及它是否会对恶行犯罪起到震慑作用。但是大部分人（63％）认为，如果有人犯下类似谋杀的罪行，死刑判决在道义层面上是讲得通的，只有32％的人认为不符合道德规范，即使罪犯杀了人。



与此同时，71％的美国人认为存在着无辜者被冤枉处死的风险，只有大约四分之一（26％）的人认为，有足够的机制可以避免这样的现象发生。

大约六成（61％）受访者说，死刑判决不会对恶行犯罪产生震慑效果，35％的人说会产生震慑效果。

大约一半（52％）受访者说，对与类似的罪行，少数民族比白人更容易被判处死刑。不到一半（41％）的受访者认为白人和少数民族被判处死刑的几率是一样的。

调查还发现，美国人基本上不了解过去几年美国的死刑数量是否发生了变化。根据美国司法部提供的数据，过去十年中死刑处决数量有所下降。



总体来看，三成美国人（31％）认为美国死刑犯的数量在下降，四分之一（25％）的美国人认为死刑数量在过去十年没有变化，21％的美国人认为数量在上升，还有大约四分之一（23％）的人没有给出答案。

对死刑的态度



女性支持死刑的比例与2011年相比下降了10个百分点，而男性的态度基本没有变化。支持死刑的男性比女性多出15个百分点（64％和49％）。4年前，性别之间的差异没有这么大（65％的男性和59％的女性支持死刑）。

民主党人都会死刑的整体态度发生了转变，现在有56％的民主党人反对死刑，40％的人表示支持。在4年前，支持的人数（49％）比反对的人数（43％）更多。与此相比，共和党人对死刑的态度基本没有变化（目前77％支持，2011年79％支持）。

民主党内部对于死刑的态度存在意识形态方面的分裂，大约一半的保守派和温和派（48％）支持死刑，只有29％的自由派支持死刑。在共和党内部，保守派、温和派和自由派对死刑的态度基本一致（77％支持）。

白人、黑人和西班牙人对死刑的整体支持率在缓慢下降，但是种族之间依然有比较大的差异。大约六成白人（63％）支持死刑，只有34％的黑人和45％的西班牙人支持死刑。

不同年龄层的人对死刑的态度基本一致。30岁以下的人群中有大约一半（51％）的人支持死刑，30到49岁人群中57％支持死刑，50到64岁人群中61％支持死刑，65岁以上人群中54％支持死刑。

从宗教角度来看，白人福音新教徒（71％）、白人普通新教徒（66％）和白人天主教徒（63％）大部分人支持死刑。但是没有宗教信仰的人态度并不一致，（48％支持，45％反对），在2011年，绝大部分无宗教信仰的人支持死刑（57％对36％）。

死刑的反对者和支持者都看到了无辜人被处死的风险



死刑支持者一边倒地认为合乎道义，90％的人说，如果一个人犯下谋杀的罪行，将其处死是合乎道义的。只有26％的死刑反对者认为这样的行为合乎道义。

但是在其它有关死刑的问题上，支持者和反对者的态度没有这么大的差异。大部分（84％）反对死刑的人说，存在无辜者被处死的风险，63％的死刑支持者也同样这么认为。

将近八成的死刑反对者认为，死刑不能震慑恶性犯罪。支持死刑的人对此态度不统一，49％的人认为不能震慑犯罪，47％的人认为可以。

大部分死刑反对者（68％）认为，犯有同样罪行的少数民族比白人更容易被判处死刑。死刑支持者中持这种态度的比例是42％，52％的人说白人和少数民族被判处死刑的几率一样。

针对死刑和少数民族，不同种族人群观点的差异



在整体死刑问题上，不同的人口结构和党派归属给出了不同的观点。差异最大的观点是在少数民族是否比白人更容易被判处死刑的问题上。

77％的黑人说，在类似的罪行基础上，少数民族比白人更容易被判处死刑。白人的观点并不统一，46％的人说少数民族的确更容易被判处死刑，类似比例的人说在这个问题上没有差异。

认为少数民族比白人更容易被判处死刑的民主党人（70％）比共和党人（31％）高出一倍。

教育程度的不同也形成了对这个问题的观点差异。60％的大学毕业人群认为少数民族比白人更容易被判处死刑，55％的有过大学经历的人也持此观点。但是在高中以下教育程度的人群中，44％的人说少数民族更容易被判处死刑，48％的人说白人和少数民族被判处死刑的几率是一样的。

与此相比，针对死刑中是否存在无辜者被处死的风险，以及是否有足够的机制避免这种现象的问题，受访者的态度没有太大的差异。无论哪个年龄段和党派，大多数人都看到了无辜者被处死的风险，包括74％的黑人、70％的白人和西班牙人。尽管如此，认为无辜者有被处死风险的民主党人（79％）和无党派人士（71％）要多于共和党人（61％）。





原文：

Less Support for Death Penalty, Especially Among Democrats

Supporters, Opponents See Risk of Executing the Innocent

A majority of Americans favor the death penalty for those convicted of murder, but support for the death penalty is as low as it has been in the past 40 years. A new Pew Research Center survey finds 56% favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, while 38% are opposed.

The share supporting the death penalty has declined six percentage points, from 62%, since 2011. Throughout much of the 1980s and 90s, support for the death penalty often surpassed 70%. In a 1996 survey, 78% favored the death penalty, while just 18% were opposed.

Much of the decline in support over the past two decades has come among Democrats. Currently, just 40% of Democrats favor the death penalty, while 56% are opposed. In 1996, Democrats favored capital punishment by a wide margin (71% to 25%).

There has been much less change in opinions among Republicans: 77% favor the death penalty, down from 87% in 1996. The share of independents who favor the death penalty has fallen 22 points over this period, from 79% to 57%.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Mar. 25-29 among 1,500 adults, finds widespread doubts about how the death penalty is applied and whether it deters serious crime. Yet a majority (63%) says that when someone commits a crime like murder, the death penalty is morally justified; just 31% say it is morally wrong, even in cases of murder.

At the same time, 71% of Americans say there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death. Only about a quarter (26%) say there are adequate safeguards in place to make sure that does not happen.

About six-in-ten (61%) say the death penalty does not deter people from committing serious crimes; 35% say it does deter serious crime.

And about half (52%) say that minorities are more likely than whites to be sentenced to death for similar crimes; fewer (41%) think that whites and minorities are equally likely to be sentenced for similar .

The survey also finds that Americans are relatively unaware about whether the number of death penalty executions taking place in the U.S. has changed in recent years. According to U.S. Justice Department records the number of prisoners executed in the last 10 years has declined.

Overall, about three-in-ten Americans (31%) think the number of prisoners put to death in the U.S. has been decreasing. And a quarter (25%) say that the number of people put to death has stayed about the same in the past ten years. Fewer say that it has increased (21%) and about a quarter do not offer an answer (23%).

Opinions of the Death Penalty

The share of women who favor the death penalty has fallen 10 points since 2011, while men’s views have shown virtually no change. Men are now 15 points more likely than women to favor the death penalty (64% vs. 49%). Four years ago, the gender difference was much more modest (65% of men favored the death penalty, as did 59% of women).

The balance of opinion on the death penalty among Democrats has shifted since 2011: 56% now oppose the death penalty, while 40% favor it. Four years ago, more Democrats favored (49%) than opposed (43%) the death penalty. By contrast, opinion of the death penalty is virtually unchanged among Republicans (77% favor now, 79% in 2011).

Democrats continue to be ideologically divided over the death penalty. Nearly half of conservative and moderate Democrats (48%) favor it, compared with 29% of liberals. Among Republicans, conservative Republicans are as likely as moderate and liberal Republicans to favor the death penalty (77% each).

Support for the death penalty has edged down among whites, blacks and Hispanics since 2011, but wide racial differences persist. About six-in-ten whites (63%) favor the death penalty, compared with 34% of blacks and 45% of Hispanics.

Age differences in views of the death penalty continue to be modest. About half (51%) of those under 30 favor the death penalty, as do 57% of those 30 to 49, 61% of those 50 to 64 and 54% of those 65 and older.

Among religious groups, sizable majorities of white evangelical Protestants (71%), white mainline Protestants (66%) and white Catholics (63%) favor the death penalty. But those who are religiously unaffiliated are divided (48% favor, 45% oppose). In 2011, the religiously unaffiliated supported the death penalty by a wide margin (57% to 36%).

Death Penalty Opponents, Supporters See Risk of Executing the Innocent

Death penalty supporters overwhelmingly view it as morally justified: 90% say that when someone commits a crime like murder, the death penalty is morally justified. Just 26% of death penalty opponents view it as morally justified.

Yet the differences between death penalty supporters and opponents are not as stark when it comes to other opinions about capital punishment. A large majority (84%) of those who oppose the death penalty say there is a risk that an innocent person will be put to death; so too do 63% of death penalty supporters.

Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) opponents of the death penalty say it does not deter people from committing serious crimes. People who favor the death penalty are divided: 49% say it does not deter serious crimes, while 47% think it does.

A majority of opponents (68%) say minorities are more likely than whites to be sentenced to the death penalty for committing similar crimes. That compares with 42% of death penalty supporters; 52% of supporters say whites and minorities are equally likely to be sentenced to the death penalty for similar crimes.

Racial Gap in Views of Death Penalty and Minorities

As with overall views of the death penalty, there are demographic and partisan differences in attitudes about capital punishment.

The sharpest disagreements are in views of whether minorities are more likely than whites to face the death penalty.

Fully 77% of blacks say minorities are more likely than whites to receive the death penalty for similar crimes. Whites are evenly divided: 46% say minorities are disproportionately sentenced to death, while an identical percentage sees no racial disparities.

More than twice as many Democrats (70%) as Republicans (31%) say minorities are more likely than whites to receive the death penalty for similar crimes.

There also are educational differences in these opinions: 60% of college graduates say minorities are more apt to receive the death penalty than are whites, as do 55% of those with some college experience. But among those with no more than a high school education, 44% say minorities are disproportionately sentenced to death; 48% say whites and minorities are equally likely to receive the death penalty for similar crimes.

In contrast, there are much more modest differences in opinions about whether the death penalty presents a risk that an innocent person will be put to death, or whether there are adequate safeguards in place. Majorities across every demographic and partisan group see some risk that an innocent person will be put to death, including 74% of blacks, and 70% each of whites and Hispanics. Still, larger shares of Democrats (79%) and independents (71%) than Republicans (61%) say there is a risk of executing an innocent person.

易八泰

必须支持死刑

睡醒的猫

俺支持

每天的晨吟

实践证明，大凡一刀切的作为，结果都不好！

风凄夜寒

支持死刑