U.S. support for the death penalty for convicted murderers has dropped below the majority level for the first since 1971, according to a new Gallup poll.
The survey found 49% of Americans approve of capital punishment compared to 45% who disapprove. Last year, 52% were in favor.
Support has fallen steadily since the 1994 high of 80%, with only a handful of spikes in the intervening years, according to Gallup.
The survey was conducted Oct. 1-19 and began the day after Tennessee’s high-profile failure to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection despite two attempts. The fiasco led to international headlines, an investigation into the state’s lethal injection protocols and the suspension of executions at least through the end of the year.
“Americans’ support for the death penalty has declined significantly over the past three decades, led by declines among Democrats and younger generations of U.S. adults,” A Gallup report explained. “Now, less than a majority of U.S. adults are in favor of it, which has not been the case in over 50 years. Support for capital punishment may decline further if trends among younger generations continue.”
This year’s polling found 59% of adults ages 18 to 29 are not in favor of the death penalty, compared to 39% who favor executions. All other age groupings showed majority support, including 49% of adults 30 to 49, 54% of those 50 to 64 and 53% of Americans 65 and older.
By contrast, 61% of the younger adults favored capital punishment in 2000 along with 67% of those 30 to 49 and 71% of respondents 50 and older.
“As Gallup showed in a 2024 analysis, age differences are apparent in all party groups. Younger Democrats, independents and Republicans are less likely than older adults who share the same party identification to support the death penalty.”
But the survey also found death penalty support also fallen across all political groups since the 1990s and 2000s, with Democrats showing the largest decline — from 75% in 1994 to 28% this year. The height of Republican support came in 1988 at 90% and was measured at 73% in the October poll. Support among independents topped out at 81% in 1988 compared to 50% in 2026.
“The differential changes between Democrats and Republicans have led to an expanded party gap in death penalty support — 45 points today, similar to the 43% average over the past 10 years,” Gallup reported. “Between 1990 and 2015, the parties differed by 25 points, on average.”
Pike’s botched lethal injection hasn’t been alone in drawing negative attention to capital punishment. Tennessee also failed to execute an inmate in May. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has continued his crusade of executions with 19 so far this year, matching his total in 2025 and accounting for about 55% of all U.S. executions across the country this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
But Florida has a 20th execution scheduled for Nov. 19. In response, a group of Florida Death Row exonerees and death penalty abolitionists plan to gather in Tallahassee Nov. 12 to urge Governor-elect Byron Donalds to stop the practice.
“When I hear about another execution, I think about how close I came to being one of those names,” said Herman Lindsey, executive director of Witness to Innocence and a Florida Death Row exoneree. “I was released, but I worry about who is still there and whether anyone is listening to them. That’s what I want the next governor to understand when we ask him to stop executions.”
The Gallup survey provides more evidence Americans are getting fed up with pace and cruelty of executions, said Laura Porter, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty.
“This is the second poll in a row to show that we are at a pivotal turning point in public opinion on the death penalty, as Americans have been horrified by the recent botched executions, as well as the proposal to livestream an execution,” Porter said. “At the same time, both Republican and Democratic governors have been granting clemencies at an increasing pace. The death penalty is being seen for what it is, an utter failure.”