Contemporary Regional Differences in Support by Whites for the Death Penalty: A Research Note

Despite good theoretical reasons to expect strong differences between Southern whites and non-Southern whites in death penalty support, prior research with 1990 General Social Survey (GSS) data found only a small difference that lacked statistical significance. This paper investigates the possibilities that this null result was a statistical anomaly due to sampling vagaries or that a regional difference has emerged since 1990. Examining GSS data from 1974 through 2006, we initially found that a South/non-South regional difference among whites did not exist before 1993 but has existed since then. However, further analysis revealed that a Northeast/non-Northeast difference among whites has also existed during this same period. These findings suggest that future research on death penalty opinion should use both such differences as regional controls rather than just the customary South/non-South division.