Such things do need citations yes not sure how long those claims have been in the article but if sources ca nt be found for the claims it should be deleted alot sounds like guesses or presumptions One of the sentences you mention also contradicts itself For every person against it there are 1 or 2 who support it and Both in abolitionist and retentionist democracies the government s stance often has wide public support How can there be more people who support the death penalty if in abolitionist democracies the public support the governments stance It simply does nt make sense There s lots of other problems with it too 1 or 2 people being against something that s a huge difference its like saying 1 billion support something or 2 billion do i think we should be rather more clear The bit about has supported the death penalty is also silly every country at some stage has had the death penalty and it may of been supported back then Anyway if sources ca nt be found these claims should be deleted pretty soon