Public Reasons for Abolition and Retention of the Death Penalty

• NCJ Number: 197693
• Journal: International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 12 Dated: 2002 Pages: 77-92
• Author(s): Peter J. van Koppen; Dick J. Hessing; Christianne J. de Poot
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article compares attitudes toward capital punishment in the United States and in Europe, examining why some countries retain the death penalty while most do not.

Abstract

This study first considers developments in popular support for the death penalty in the Netherlands and the United States, using survey data from these countries over the years. This is followed by analysis of data from a larger number of countries to determine differences between countries that still retain the death penalty and countries that have abolished it. This component of the study relies on the Gallup Millennium Survey and the Human Development Report. In addition to providing data on support for the death penalty in each country, these sources also produced information on respondents' educational level, the level of democracy, and the level of crime. The study concludes that the United States and Europe' of which the Netherlands is an example, have different policies on the death penalty because of the different percentages of citizens who usually support the death penalty; whereas, the majority of Americans force the political elite to support the death penalty, in European countries the supporters of the death penalty are usually in the minority. It may be that the most important factor in keeping the death penalty out of Europe and keeping it in the United States is the response of the political elite to the opinion of the majority of citizens. Further, in a two-party political system, politicians may be forced to take stronger positions than in countries with multiple parties. This is supported by the worldwide data, which show the abolitionist countries have more political parties represented in the lower house of parliament than in retentionist countries. There is also evidence that the punitive-retributive criminal justice philosophy in the United States is much more extreme generally than in European countries. 6 tables and 59 references