Pollingreport.com posts opinion polls about the death penalty among other topics like crime and violence.

For more detailed information on legal developments in the death penalty in America, see a timeline by the Clark County, Ind., prosecuting attorney’s office.

In December 2012, the Death Penalty Information Center, a leading advocacy group against capital punishment, released its annual study, which showed that the number of executions stayed the same between 2011 and 2012 — 43 each year.

The number of judges dissenting — often strongly — from death penalty rulings is increasing, according to this Aug. 13, 2009, story in The New York Times.

In 2009, New Mexico joined the list of states no longer using capital punishment. Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation in March repealing the state’s death penalty and replacing it with a maximum sentence of life without parole. This March 18, 2009, CNN story gives the details.

Gallup publishes an annual survey each October on attitudes toward the death penalty. The January 2013 survey shows the consistency of general support for capital punishment: 63 percent in favor of the death penalty. The poll also shows Republicans and Independents are much more likely to support the death penalty than Democrats. But when given the choice […]

Sean B. Tipton is a president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research which represents universities and health advocates and supports research cloning.

Andrew Fergusson is president and CEO of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, a nonprofit group founded by Christian bioethicists. The group has issued a statement on stem cell research.

Douglas Johnson is legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, which opposes embryonic stem cell research. He says bills such as one New Jersey passed in 2003 legalizing embryonic stem cell research promote fetus farming. Contact Megan Dillon.