Views on the death penalty among college students in India

Abstract

While research abounds on attitudes toward capital punishment in the United States, such work has been lacking in non-western nations — particularly in India, the world's largest democracy. Data recently collected have revealed variance in levels of support for the death penalty among Indian college students: 44 percent express some degree of opposition, 13 percent are uncertain, and 43 percent express some degree of support. Reasons for support or opposition also exhibited variance. According to a multivariate analysis, statistically significant reasons for support included retribution, instrumentalist goals, and incapacitation; while significant reasons for opposition included morality and the belief that deterrence could be achieved by imposing sentences of life without parole.