Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Death Penalty And Public Opinion, Eve Errickson

Honors Theses

In this research, I will examine public opinion on the death penalty from 1972 to the present. In doing so, I will show that as the awareness of violence and crime increases, support for the death penalty increases. I intend by the consideration of prevalent trends and ideas over the past twenty-five years to show that awareness of crime and prejudice against ethnic groups traditionally associated with crime often dictates public opinion of the death penalty. As these tendencies become more apparent, it will become clear that the Supreme Court's confidence in mitigating and aggravating factors are not entirely valid, …