Surveys from 309 inmates at a close-security prison in southwest Ohio revealed that the death penalty attitudes of prison inmates are as considered as they are diverse. Results indicated that 43% supported the death penalty but that support softened considerably when alternatives such as “true” life were offered. Based on their personal experiences, much of the opposition to capital punishment (53%) stemmed from the inmates’ beliefs that executions do not deter violent crime. However, that opposition dropped to 34% when the respondents were asked if the death penalty should apply to the physical and sexual abuse of children.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bedau, H. A. (Ed.). (1997). The death penalty in America: Current controversies. New York: Oxford University Press.
2.
Bohm, R. M. (1991). American death penalty opinion, 1936-1986: A critical examination of the Gallup polls. In R. Bohm (Ed.), The death penalty in America: Current research, pp. 113-145. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.
3.
Bohm, R. M. (1992). Toward an understanding of death penalty opinion change in the United States: The pivotal years, 1966 and 1967. Humanity and Society, 16(4), 524-542.
4.
Bowers, W.J. (1990, May 28). The death penalty’s “shaky” support. The NewYork Times, p. 21-21.
5.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1995). Prisoners in 1994. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
6.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2000). Prisoners in 1999. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
7.
Death Penalty Information Center. (2002). Mental retardation and the death penalty(pp. 1-6). Washington, DC: www.deathpenaltyinfo.org.
8.
Doyle, C. (1996). Antiterrorism and effective death penalty act of 1996: A summary, 1-41. Criminal Law Division. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/irp/ers/96-499.htm
9.
Drinan, R. F. (1999). Catholic politicians and the death penalty. America, 180(15), 19-20.
10.
Durham, A. M. (1994). Crisis and reform: Current issues in American punishment. Boston: Little, Brown.
11.
Durham, A. M., Elrod, H. P., & Kinkade, P. T. (1996). Public support for the death penalty. Justice Quarterly, 13(4), 705-730.
12.
Ellsworth, P. C.,& Gross, S. R. (1994). Hardening of the attitudes: American views on the death penalty. Journal of Social Issues, 50, 90-115.
13.
Ellsworth, P. C., & Ross, L. (1983). Public opinion and capital punishment. Crime & Delinquency, 29, 116-130.
14.
Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994, Title 6,& 60001 et. Seq. (1995). Laws and concurrent resolutions during the second session of the One Hundred Third Congress of the United States of America. United States Statutes at Large 1994V. 108, Part 3, 1959-1982, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
15.
Fox, J. A., Radelet, M. L., & Bonsteel, J. (1990). Death penalty opinion in the post-Furman years. New York Review of Law and Social Change, 18, 499-528.
16.
Gallup, G. H. (1972). The Gallup Poll: Public opinion 1935-1971. Vol. 1, 1938-1945(p. 342-342). New York: Random House.
Gallup Poll News Service. (2001a, May10-14). Survey conducted by GallupPoll News Service
19.
Gallup Poll News Service. (2001b, October 11-14). Survey conducted by Gallup Poll News Service.
20.
Grasmick, H. G., Cockhran, J. K., Bursik, R. J., Jr.,& Kimpel, M. (1993). Religion, punitive justice, and support for the death penalty. Justice Quarterly, 10(2), 289-314.
21.
Harris, P. (1986). Over simplification and error in public opinion surveys on capital punishment. Justice Quarterly, 3, 429-455.
22.
Lester, D. (1998). The death penalty issues and answers. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
23.
Lifton, R. J., & Mitchell, G. (2002). Who owns death? Capital punishment, the American conscience, and the end of executions. New York: Perennial.
24.
Loeb, R. A., Jr. (1978). Crime and capital punishment. New York: Franklin Watz.
25.
Lord, C., Ross, L., & Lepper, M. (1979). Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 20-28.
26.
Maguire, K., & Pastore, A. L. (Eds.). (2001). Sourcebook of criminal justice statistics 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
27.
Masur, L. P. (1989). Rites of execution: The transformation of American culture from1776-1865.New York: Oxford University Press.
28.
Radelet, M. L.,& Akers, R. L. (1996). Deterrence and the death penalty: The viewof the experts.Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 87(1), 1-16.
29.
Sebba, L.,& Nathan, G. (1984). Further exploration in the scaling of penalties. British Journal of Criminology, 24, 221-249.
30.
Stack, S. (1999, November). Support for the death penalty: A gender specific model. Unpublished paper presented at the 51st Annual Meetings of the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, Canada.
31.
Stevens, D. (1992). Research note: The death sentence and inmate attitudes. Crime & Delinquency, 38(2), 272-279.
32.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2001). Statistical abstract of the United States, 2001. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
33.
Whitehead, J. T. (1998). “Good ol boys” and the chair: Death penalty attitudes of policy makers in Tennessee. Crime & Delinquency, 44(2), 245-256.
34.
Young, R. L. (1991). Race, conception of crime and justice and support for the death penalty. Social Psychology Quarterly, 5(1), 67-75.
35.
Young, R. L. (1992). Religious orientations, race and support for the death penalty. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31(1), 76-87.
