Attitudes Towards Capital Punishment

Q1 Do you think that the death penalty is ever justified, or not?
  • MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,527 adults aged 18+ at 68 constituency sampling points across Great Britain.
  • Fieldwork was conducted face-to-face, in street on 4 August 1995.
  • All figures are in percentages. Where percentages do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, the exclusion of don't knows or computer rounding.
  • Data were weighted to match the profile of the population.
  • An asterisk (*) denotes a figure between zero and 0.5%.
  • Research study conducted for The News of the World Newspaper

Q1 Do you think that the death penalty is ever justified, or not?

    Dec 89 1995
  1978 1981 -Jan 90 All 18-24 25-34 35-54 55+
  % % % % % % % %
Yes, sometimes 77 78 63 76 68 73 75 80
No, never 21 19 33 19 27 23 20 14
Don't know 2 3 4 5 5 4 5 6

Q2 (If Yes) If the criminal is a woman, do you think they should be more or less likely to be executed, or should it make no difference?

  All 18-24 25-34 35-54 55+
  % % % % %
Equally to men and women 93 94 96 96 90
Less to women 4 4 3 3 5
More to women * - 1 * *
Don't know 3 2 1 1 5

Q3 I am going to read out a list of various crimes and I would like you to tell me whether or not you feel the death penalty is suitable for each one?

  1978Suitable Suitable 1996Not Don'tknow
  % % % %
Murder of a child n/a 82 15 3
Rape of a child n/a 71 22 7
Terrorist murders 76 71 22 7
Murder of a policeman or prison officer * 73 70 23 7
Murder during an armed robbery 67 65 27 8
Rape of an adult n/a 26 61 13
Murder of husband or wife in a fit of rage 11 17 67 19

* 1978 Q Murder of a policeman

Q4 Here is a list of methods of execution that are used in some countries. If the death penalty were to be re-introduced, which of these methods do you think should be used in this country?

  All 18-24 25-34 35-54 55+
  % % % % %
Lethal injection 59 60 58 63 55
Hanging 22 22 17 20 28
Electric chair 17 26 21 15 13
Gas chamber 6 10 8 5 5
Shooting 6 10 6 4 7
Guillotine / beheading 2 6 2 2 2
Other 1 * 1 1 1
None of these 8 8 12 9 6

Q5 If the death penalty was introduced, do you think it should be applied to people under 16, only over 16, only over 18, only over 21 or only some older limit?

  All 18-24 25-34 35-54 55+
  % % % % %
Under 16 10 10 10 10 10
Over 16 26 21 28 23 28
Over 18 30 34 28 28 32
Over 21 19 19 18 22 17
Some older limit 3 4 4 2 2
Not at all 9 9 11 11 7
Don't know 4 2 3 4 4

Q6 On balance, do you think that the families of victims should have a say in whether the death sentence is imposed on a murderer or not?

  All 18-24 25-34 35-54 55+
  % % % % %
Yes, should have a say 40 44 43 37 41
No, should not have a say 50 47 46 55 48
Depends 7 6 7 6 7
Don't know 3 3 4 2 4

Q7 Would you personally like to see a referendum held on re-introducing the death penalty?

    Apr-May Aug 1995
  1991 1995 All 18-24 25-34 35-54 55+
  % % % % % % %
Yes, hold 60 69 80 67 79 83 83
No, do not hold 37 27 16 24 17 14 14
Don't know 3 4 4 10 5 3 3

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