Public Opinion
Australia banned capital punishment on a state-by-state basis through the 20th century, and today, the practice is widely condemned by most Australians. However, there have been recent cases where Australians contradicted this, such as the case of the Bali bombers, in which then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, stated Australians expected their execution by Indonesia.
On occasion the issue of Capital Punishment is published in the media or is subject to media and public support and scrutiny. Most occasions where Capital Punishment is brought up in the media, it is regarding current cases of intense media coverage regarding murder, rape and in extreme circumstances such as terrorism. In various occasions, the media and public express support for Capital Punishment for the most heinous of crimes committed against humanity including mass murder such as in the cases of Backpacker Murders and the Port Arthur massacre. Both the Milat Backpacker murders and the Bryant Port Arthur massacre killed a combined 42 people and stirred strong emotions as to whether or not to reintroduce the Death Penalty. However, no person of significant stature or influence has advocated the Death Penalty for quite some time since the last execution in 1967.
The death penalty was completely abolished and outlawed in Australia with the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Bill 2009 passing the Australian Senate without amendments in March 2010. There are no plans to restore capital punishment in Australia.
The below table reflects the results of a public opinion survey conducted by the Roy Morgan institute where responders were given the following question: "In your opinion, should the penalty for murder be death or imprisonment?" The surveyors conducted the poll for people from 14 and onwards in age with around 687 people completing the survey for publication in December 2009. The results of the poll are as follows:
| Date | Death Penalty % |
Imprisonment % |
Undecided % |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 1947 | 67 | 24 | 9 |
| February 1953 | 68 | 24 | 8 |
| April 1962 | 53 | 37 | 10 |
| November 1975 | 40 | 43 | 17 |
| October 1980 | 43 | 40 | 17 |
| January 1986 | 43 | 41 | 16 |
| July 1986 | 44 | 40 | 16 |
| July 1987 | 49 | 37 | 14 |
| February 1989 | 52 | 34 | 14 |
| February 1990 | 53 | 35 | 12 |
| June 1990 | 51 | 35 | 14 |
| May 1992 | 46 | 39 | 15 |
| May. 1993 | 54 | 36 | 10 |
| August 1995 | 53 | 36 | 11 |
| November 2005 | 27 | 66 | 7 |
| December 2005 | 25 | 69 | 6 |
| August 2009 | 23 | 64 | 13 |
- Source: Roy Morgan Research
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In Australia
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