The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2021 3. Development and impact of public opinion In pursuit of abolition it is important to analyse the influence of public opinion, regardless of the inconsistencies of public polling results on the death penalty. Real or perceived public support is often used to justify the retention or even the resumption of capital punishment.75 National organizations have proven to be effective in promoting death penalty abolition when they involved victims’ family members and also religious groups, because this helped to change public opinion on matters relating to the death penalty. The relationship between public opinion and death penalty abolition, however, is highly complex. As emphasised in previous background papers, political leaders should not base their decision to engage in abolition processes depending on any real or perceived public opinion on the matter. Instead, States have a responsibility to protect human rights, in line with international human rights law, regardless of any majority opinion, and political leadership must promote public awareness and discussion about abolition.76 Moreover, public opinion is notoriously hard to measure and statistics and opinion polls should therefore be treated cautiously.77 The way in which poll questions are phrased, who they are distributed to, how many people are asked and at what point in time demonstrably has a huge impact on responses, and jeopardizes the reliability of polls. Particularly when asked in the aftermath of a heinous crime widely reported in the media, public support for the death penalty is likely to increase. On the other hand, when a wrongful conviction is exposed or a citizen is sentenced to death abroad, support for abolition usually increases. It has also been shown that the more people are aware of the facts, the less likely they are to support the death penalty.78 As noted by the UN Secretary General during the reporting period, public support for the death penalty is, however, often based on a misconception that it acts as a deterrent to serious crime.79 75 ODIHR, The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2019, op. cit., note 5, pp. 16–18. 76 Ibid. 77 Yearly supplement of the Secretary-General to the United Nations to his quinquennial report on capital punishment, Capital punishment and the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, A/HRC/42/28, 28 August 2019, para. 30. 78 Penal Reform International, The Death Penalty: Myths & Realities. 79 UN Secretary-General, op. cit., note 77, para. 31. 24