Yesterday Brandon Bernard, who was found guilty of murdering Stacie and Todd Bagley in 1999, was executed in Indiana. Despite a last minute plea to the Supreme Court, as well as pleas from celebrities on social media, the execution went ahead.
Since the year 2000, there have now been 929 executions across the US, although that number has been falling in recent years. So far in 2020 there have been 16 including Brandon Bernard — according to data from the DPIC.
What does public opinion say?
Fewer executions perhaps reflect changing public opinion on the death penalty. The latest data from Gallup, which has tracked US public views on the death penalty for more than 60 years, suggest that 55% of the US public are currently in favour of the death penalty. That's a majority, but it is down on the 80% support that was polled as recently as 1994.
