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Americans Have Been Torn for Decades Over Use of Capital Punishment

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - The Justice Department's announcement Thursday that it
   will resume federal executions in the United States after a 16-year
   pause comes as public support for the death penalty has steadily eroded
   and a growing number of states have moved to abolish it.

   While the death penalty remains popular among most Americans, the level
   of support for capital punishment has fallen well below levels seen
   when the last federal execution took place in 2003.

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