PENNSYLVANIA — A new poll shows that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly prefer life sentences to the death penalty for people convicted of murder, and express little to no faith that the government can fairly or accurately administer executions, according to Death Penalty Policy.
Data collected by Susquehanna Polling and Research as part of its Statewide Voter Attitude Survey found that most Pennsylvanians believe a life sentence is the most appropriate punishment for murder. The percentage of respondents who supported the death penalty was less than half of those who favored life imprisonment. Only 29 percent of respondents said the death penalty was the most appropriate punishment for murder, according to Death Penalty Policy.
In February 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that he would continue to uphold Pennsylvania’s moratorium on executions and “invited the legislature to send him a bill to abolish the state’s death penalty,” which Death Penalty Policy said prompted the new polling.
The group reported that the findings were consistent with a 2015 Public Policy Polling survey conducted after then-Governor Tom Wolf imposed a moratorium on executions. That study found Democrats were six times more likely to support life sentences over the death penalty (76 percent to 12 percent), and Independents favored life sentences by a 41-point margin (64 percent to 23 percent). Republicans preferred the death penalty to life sentencing alternatives by 48 percent to 37 percent.
Across all political affiliations, more than half of respondents said they did not, or barely, trusted the government to make fair and just decisions regarding the death penalty. A majority of Democrats and nearly half of Republicans expressed this distrust, while only 5 percent said they trusted the government “completely” to administer the death penalty, according to Death Penalty Policy.
The survey also examined the reasons behind respondents’ preferences. Those who supported the death penalty often cited deterrence and retribution, saying it “serves as a deterrent to others” and that people convicted of murder deserved an “eye for an eye.” Respondents who preferred life sentences most frequently said “the risk of executing an innocent person is too high” or that taking any human life is unjust, Death Penalty Policy reported.
The poll also found that voters were unlikely to base their votes on a candidate’s position on the death penalty. Most said the issue “would have no impact on their vote.” However, communities with higher rates of disagreement over candidates’ positions tended to include more people of color, which the study attributed to historical disparities in capital punishment.
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