(Angus Reid Consultants – CPOD Global Scan) – Many American adults support capital punishment, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 62 per cent of respondents back the death penalty for persons convicted of murder.
(Angus Reid Consultants – CPOD Global Scan) – Many American adults support capital punishment, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 62 per cent of respondents back the death penalty for persons convicted of murder.
Since 1976, 944 people have been put to death in the United States, including 59 during 2004. More than a third of all executions have taken place in the state of Texas. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia do not engage in capital punishment, and a moratorium on executions has been issued in Illinois.
Yesterday, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s death penalty is unconstitutional, due to a provision on the way jurors should approach the issue of capital punishment during sentencing. Six inmates who were awaiting execution will be re-sentenced.
Americans are divided on how to deal with people convicted of murder. 42 per cent of respondents say death is a suitable punishment, while 46 per cent suggest life imprisonment without parole.
Polling Data
Do you favour or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?
Dec. 2004 | Jun. 2004 | |
Favour | 62% | 65% |
Oppose | 29% | 25% |
Don’t know | 9% | 10% |
Which punishment do you prefer for people convicted of murder: the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole?
Dec. 2004 | Jun. 2004 | |
Death penalty | 42% | 44% |
Life, no parole | 46% | 45% |
Don’t know | 12% | 11% |
Source: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,529 registered American voters, conducted from Dec. 7 to Dec. 12, 2004. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
