Putting kids to death: Specifying public support for juvenile capital punishment

Using a statewide sample of 539 Tennessee residents, we explored the extent to which the public supports the death penalty for juveniles. The analysis revealed that a majority of respondents favored juvenile capital punishmen t, often for young offenders. The respondents, however, were less supportiv e of juvenile than of adult execution. Most important, as an alternative to juvenile capital punishment, nearly two-thirds of the sample favored life in prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP); four-fifths favored a l ife sentence with work and restitution requirements (LWOP+ W/R). Notably, e ven among those who endorsed capital punishment for juveniles, a clear majo rity supported LWOP+W/R. Taken together, these findings reveal that althoug h the public is wilting to execute juveniles who commit first-degree murder , they prefer alternative sentencing options that avoid putting youths to d eath.