American conservatives are pushing for the repeal of the death penalty

PENTOBARBITAL IS due to be injected into Daniel Lee, a white supremacist convicted of a triple murder, on the morning of July 13th. The drug, administered at a federal prison in Indiana, is supposed first to make him unconscious, then stop his heart or prevent breathing. This week the Supreme Court declined to take up a case that might have stopped his death. Instead, barring late legal challenges, his will be the first execution carried out under federal authority in 17 years. It comes a year after William Barr, the attorney-general, ordered them to resume. Three more, all of murderers, are set for the summer.

What will the federal executions achieve? Donald Trump has long yearned for more use of capital punishment. Late in June the president told an interviewer he is “totally in favour of the death penalty”. On Twitter he calls himself a “law and order” leader. His base of supporters should cheer. Among older Republicans a big majority long shared his views: a Pew survey from two years ago found that 81% of 50-64 year-olds supported its use, as did 78% who were 65 or older.

Look more widely, though, and attitudes are turning against the idea of the state killing its prisoners. Younger respondents and independents are less keen on it. Few believe it is an effective deterrent. A poll by Gallup, in late June, found that...