NCJ Number
136640
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (April-June 1992) Pages: 127-144
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
An analysis of public opinion polls shows a marked trend of increased support in the United States for the use of capital punishment since this sanction's ban in the 1972 Supreme Court decision Furman v. Georgia and subsequent reinstatement in 1977.
Abstract
This support for capital punishment, which has reached heights unprecedented in the history of public opinion polling, is expressed by all major sociodemographic groupings except for the important category of race. The most recent polls show that support among whites for capital punishment, be it symbolic or otherwise, is virtually all-encompassing. The analysis concludes with an exploration of possible reasons that whites are more prone than blacks to support a vengeance model of justice and recommendations for new areas of research. 34 references