Most of the people who post here are white males. Although a majority of both men and women support the death penalty, men are much more likely to do so than are women. More than 7 in 10 men (74%) support the death penalty, compared with 62% of women.
Racial Differences on Death Penalty Support
There are substantial differences between whites and blacks in their support for capital punishment. The data show that 71% of whites support the death penalty, compared with only 44% of blacks. This stark difference may be the result of the ongoing debate about the overrepresentation of blacks on death rows across the country. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that there were 3,374 prisoners on death row in 2003, of which 1,418 were black and 1,878 were white. Blacks represent 42% of the inmates on death row, but only 12% of the nation’s population.