Are Whites More Supportive of the Death Penalty for Blacks?
In 2001 political scientists Mark Peffley and John Hurwitz carried out two surveys. The first one found:
Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?
Somewhat favor: 29%
Strongly favor: 36%
The second one found:
Some people say that the death penalty is unfair because most of the people who are executed are African-Americans. Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?
Somewhat favor: 25%
Strongly favor: 52%
Total support jumped 12 points from 65% to 77%, while strong support jumped 16 points (36% to 52%).
Additional results: Another condition replaced “mostly black” with “many innocents” with no significant effect. 50% of blacks favored the death penalty in the neutral phrasing, 38% in the “mostly black” condition, and 34% in the “many innocents” condition.