Attitudes toward capital punishment: Educational, demographic, and neighborhood crime influences

Studying attitudes toward capital punishment has been a topic of interest for decades. Indeed, it is often the subject of Gallup polls, political commentary, and social science research. Research indicates that attitudes vary by demographic factors, educational influences, and neighborhood crime rates. Building on prior research, the current study examined death penalty attitudes among 599 college students and 213 residents from high crime and low crime neighborhoods. In particular, the research investigated differences between how students and residents view the death penalty as no research to date has analyzed this issue. The authors also analyzed how different populations perceived the impact of race on the administration of the death penalty. Results suggested that demographics, especially race, have the strongest impact on death penalty attitudes, but that there are few differences between students and residents and those living in high and low crime neighborhoods.

► We examined death penalty attitudes among college students and residents from high crime and low crime neighborhoods.
► We focused on differences between how students and residents view the death penalty.
► We analyzed how different populations perceived the impact of race on the administration of the death penalty.
► We found that race had the strongest impact on death penalty attitudes, but there are few differences between students and residents and those living in high and low crime neighborhoods.