Tennessee Death Penalty Fact Sheet
Public Opinion
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The Gallup poll for 2004 found a margin of 50% to 46% of Americans favor the death penalty over life imprisonment as a penalty for murder. These results show a more divided public than the previous year, when the comparable figures were 53% to 44% respectively. Support for capital punishment is at its lowest level in over 25 years.
Recent Sample Polls
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Tennessee: 66% of Tennesseans favor a moratorium on executions according to a 2007 poll conducted in conjunction with the work of the American Bar Association Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Team.
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North Carolina: 70% of respondents in a recent poll support a moratorium on executions in the state. 65.4% prefer life without parole for persons with mental retardation. 66.8% think innocent people have been sentenced to death or executed in North Carolina in the past 25 years. (North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers June, 29, 2001)
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Alabama: Although 63% said they support capital punishment, this is down from past years, and 70% said that it was likely or very likely that an innocent person had been executed in the state within the last 100 years. (Mobile Register, July 2, 2000)
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Texas: 65% of the people surveyed believe that the state of Texas has executed an innocent person. 85% believe that inmates should have access to free DNA testing if it may prove their innocence. 71% favor changing state law to include the sentencing option of lie without parole. 66% are opposed to the state executing an inmate who has mental retardation. (Forth Worth Star-Telegram, March 1, 2001)
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Illinois: 7 out of 10 residents approved of Governor Ryan???s decision to place a moratorium on executions. 75% of Illinois residents are concerned that innocent people have been executed, while 47% prefer life without parole to capital punishment. Only 33% would choose death penalty for the crime of murder. Furthermore, 79% favored setting minimum standards for competence and ethics for defense lawyers. (Chicago Sun-Times, January 26, 2001)
Law enforcement views on the death penalty:
Law enforcement officers do not view the death penalty as an effective deterrent to violent crime. A 1995 Hart Research Associates Poll of police chiefs in the U.S. found that the majority of police chiefs (67%) do not believe that the death penalty significantly reduces the number of homicides. In fact, the police chiefs polled ranked the death penalty last among effective ways of reducing violent crime.
