Myths and Facts

Myth: No innocent people are put to death.

Myth: The death penalty is applied fairly.

Myth: Capital punishment is a powerful deterrent to murder and other violent crimes.

Myth: It costs more to imprison murderers for life than to execute them.

Myth: Most countries have the death penalty.

Myth: Most religions support the death penalty.

Myth: Support for the death penalty is growing in the United States.

Myth: Death by lethal injection is completely humane and painless.

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Myth:
Support for the death penalty is growing in the United States.

Fact:
A May 2004 Gallup Poll found that a growing number of Americans support a sentence of life without parole rather than the death penalty for those convicted of murder. Gallup found that 46% of respondents favor life imprisonment over the death penalty, up from 44% in May 2003. During that same time frame, support for capital punishment as an alternative fell from 53% to 50%. (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org)

a clipping from the Dallas Morning News, March 10, 2005, about the production by students at Dallas Jesuit Prep; photo by Barbara Davidson of the Dallas Morning News