Are Executions A Dying Breed?

On Nov. 8, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to make the death penalty a part of the state’s constitution. After a year filled with controversy over mishap- laden execution attempts, damning revelations and one scathing grand jury report, Oklahoma would be the first state to make capital punishment a defining part of the approach to governing.

But that might make Oklahoma a part of a dying breed. The death penalty has been a staple of American justice since the country’s founding, but it looks like it’s waning.

HOW MANY PEOPLE STILL WANT EXECUTIONS?

It turns out that number is still relatively high, but it appears to be losing steam. Oklahoma is one of 31 states that currently has the death penalty. 19 others have abolished the practice, according to the voting information site, Procon.org.

The latest Gallup poll that asked voters about capital punishment showed a 61-37 in favor/oppose split with two percent of people saying they had no opinion. This is significant for a few reasons. The first is obvious, supporters of executions are still solidly the majority of American voters.

However, the number of undecided voters has dropped in the last decade, following the national trend of political and ideological sorting among liberals and conservatives. That drop also tracks along with possibly the most interesting trend, support for the death penalty is steadily on the decline.

According to Gallup, the percentage of people who support capital punishment peaked in 1994 at 80 percent but has shown consistent downward slope in support over the last 22 years.

A 2015 Pew Research Center poll found similar results, with 56 percent of Americans saying they were in favor of putting people to death.

That same poll shows you’re less likely to support executions if you’re a Millennial or a Baby Boomer. The breakdown of opposition looks like this, with 43 percent of 18 to 29-year olds and 41 percent of 65+ against the death penalty. Gen-Xers on the other hand, had the most support with just more than a third saying they don’t favor executions.

You’re also less likely to support the death penalty the more educated you are. Those with a college degree or higher are more likely to oppose the punishment than those with some college. Those with a high school degree or less still make up the largest group of supporters.

Both age and education matter when it comes to the future of the death penalty because Millennials are the most educated generation in American history. They tend to skew to the political left and already have an aversion to executions.

The issue is also sharply divided when it comes to race, gender and political affiliation. A stance against the death penalty has been a perennial plank in the Democratic platform, after it was introduced in 1972. The Republican party didn’t add the issue to its platform until 1976 where it advocated for states to decide whether to carry out executions. Outright support wouldn’t be added until 1980.

When it comes to gender, men are still more likely than women to support executions. 64 percent of men said they were in favor of the death penalty compared to 49 percent of women. That number dropped by ten percent since 2014.

Finally, black and white Americans stand on opposite sides of the death penalty. According to Gallup, 55 percent of black Americans opposed the death penalty while 68 percent of white Americans

WHAT DOES THE DEATH PENALTY LOOK LIKE IN THE US?

Lethal injection is far and away the leading way death row inmates are put to death in the country. In fact, it’s the current first method in every state that still holds executions.  But it’s becoming harder to carry out. European pharmaceutical companies which make the barbiturate used in the three-drug “cocktail” used in executions have begun halting shipments, saying they have moral objections to their products being used to put people to death, instead of being used for medicine.

There have also been a series of botched executions since 2010, including the execution of Joseph Woods in Arizona which lasted two hours, the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma which lasted 45 minutes, and the execution of Charles Warner again in Oklahoma in which his last words were “my body is on fire.” It was later discovered the wrong drug was used in his execution.

15 states have back up methods like hanging, electrocution, firing squad and lethal gas. Most states only have a single alternative. Eight opt for the electric chair. Washington state, Delaware and New Hampshire fall back on hanging. Wyoming, Arizona and Missouri have the most recent development in execution technology by using lethal gas chambers and Utah would line up a firing squad if lethal injection were unavailable.

Oklahoma is its own animal, with both the firing squad and electrocution as official back-ups. The Sooner state also has protocol being worked out to include the gas chamber as a fourth method to ensure the death penalty will live on even if the other methods don’t.

Possibly the largest factor that shows a serious decline in support for executions is where they’re carried out. According to the website Deathpenaltyinfo.org, two percent of the counties in the U.S. carry out 56 percent of all executions. Of that 2 percent, just 15 district attorneys accounted for a third of all the cases that lead to capital punishment, showing that as support wanes, the push to keep the death penalty alive is becoming highly concentrated.

But that concentration may lead to its eventual downfall. Some legal scholars have argued the fewer counties where cases lead to execution make the likelihood of ending up on death row a gamble of geography, instead of the severity of the crime. As the argument goes, the dwindling of prosecutors willing to pursue capital punishment may make the punishment unfair, which could lead to it being deemed unconstitutional outright.

ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES?

When given the option of an alternative to the death penalty, most people take it. Even staunch supporters. The most common alternative is life in prison without the opportunity for parole. Critics say a life sentence is expensive and a drain on prison resources that should be going to help rehabilitate inmates who can be helped. But with the shortage of lethal injection drugs, the cost of putting someone to death has risen. Meanwhile, more efficient prisons have been able to lower the cost of a life sentence.

The cost of litigating a death penalty case can also be astronomic, which is often viewed as an unattractive use of state money by taxpayers. Cases in Maryland can cost $3 million, roughly three times the amount a non-execution case, according to a 2008 commission report. In Kansas, a 2003 audit showed death penalty cases can cost 70 percent more. One commission in California which looked at the death penalty in 2008, said the current system costs $137 million. Without the death penalty, that cost was brought down to $11.5 million.

Total abolition of capital punishment could also come from a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court or an act of Congress, but both are highly unlikely given the polarization of America’s political parties.

SO WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

The death penalty and support for executions is going down. But, those who oppose the death penalty shouldn’t be so quick to write it off, support is still high. After all, many supporters say “eye for an eye” punishment just makes sense for the most heinous crimes.

It may take a generation or two, but Americans are on their way to putting nails in the coffin of capital punishment without an act of Congress or SCOTUS, unless something is done to reverse the trend.