Findings from the study revealed that 83 percent of the respondents supported the death penalty. The literature review indicated that both the instrumental perspective and retribution were reasons behind Chinese people's strong support for capital punishment. However, the focus was more on instrumental reasons, such as deterrence, order maintenance, and the elimination of rising crime. Capital punishment has existed in China for millennia. In more recent years, despite a global trend away from capital punishment, China has executed more people per year than any other country. Even though there was strong support for the death penalty in China, the reasons behind the support were unclear. This study sought to test to what degree, if any the instrumental and retributive perspectives affected death penalty attitudes in a sampling of citizens in China. Tables, appendixes, notes, and references