January 04, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the Bluegrass State prefer other forms of punishment to the death penalty, according to a poll by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center. 67.7 per cent of respondents would choose imprisonment for people convicted of aggravated murder.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the Bluegrass State prefer other forms of punishment to the death penalty, according to a poll by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center. 67.7 per cent of respondents would choose imprisonment for people convicted of aggravated murder.

Since 1976, 1,057 people have been put to death in the United States, including 53 during 2006. More than a third of all executions have taken place in the state of Texas. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia do not engage in capital punishment, and moratoriums on executions have been issued in Illinois and New Jersey.

Kentucky has executed two people since the death penalty was reinstated: Harold McQueen in 1997, and Edward Lee Harper in 1999. In all, 37 people are awaiting execution in the Bluegrass State. Capital punishment can only be an option in Kentucky for murders committed with "aggravating circumstances".

Polling Data

If a person is convicted in Kentucky of aggravated murder, which of the following punishments do you personally think is most appropriate?

The death penalty	30.5%
Life in prison without parole forever	36.2%
Life in prison with the possibility of parole for 25 years	10.3%
Life in prison without the possibility of parole for 20 years	5.6%
20 to 50 years in prison with no parole possible until 85% of the sentence is served	15.5%
None of these	1.9%

Source: University of Kentucky Survey Research Center
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 836 Kentucky adults, conducted from Aug. 14 to Sept. 6, 2006. Margin of error is 3.3 per cent.