


America’s anger at the national crime wave they see on TV, highlighted by the slayings of conservative leader Charlie Kirk and Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, has led to an outspokenness of support for the death penalty.
On Friday, President Donald Trump led the way when he first announced in a Fox News appearance that the alleged killer of Kirk had been arrested, turned in by his father.
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“I hope he gets the death penalty,” Trump said of Tyler Robinson, a sentiment shared in several online comments.
Ditto for the suspect in Zarutska’s gruesome knifing death on a Charlotte, North Carolina, commuter train. According to a new Rasmussen Reports survey shared with Washington Secrets on Friday, 60% favor the death penalty for Decarlos Brown Jr. if convicted.
Americans have generally endorsed the death penalty, though the gap between those who favor it and those who don’t has shrunk to 10 points. According to Gallup, 53% support the death penalty and 43% don’t.
Thirty years ago, the gap was 64 points, with 80% in support and 16% opposed.
In the Zarutska case, every demographic supported the use of the death penalty, said Rasmussen’s analysis. Among Republicans, support was 76%, for Democrats it was 48%, and 64% of independents supported it.
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Brown, who has a long rap sheet of violent crime charges, has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He faces federal charges that are covered by the death penalty.
In Utah, where Kirk was assassinated, the governor has promised to seek the death penalty.