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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Most in Kansas Support the Death Penalty
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the Sunflower State believe capital punishment should be permitted, according to a poll by SurveyUSA released by KWCH-TV. 69 per cent of respondents support the death penalty.
Since 1976, 1,062 people have been put to death in the United States, including five this year. 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.
Kansas has not executed anyone since the death penalty was reinstated. In all, seven inmates have been sentenced to death in the Sunflower State and await their appeals at the El Dorado Correctional Center. 56 per cent of respondents would choose various forms of life imprisonment instead of capital punishment for a person convicted of first degree murder.
In November 2006, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius earned a new term in office. In 2004, Sebelius expressed her opposition to the death penalty, declaring, "There have been way too many instances in way too many states where, I think, they've gotten it wrong."
Polling Data
In general, do you support or oppose the death penalty?
Support | 69% |
Oppose | 27% |
Not sure | 4% |
More specifically now, if someone is found guilty of first-degree murder, which of these 4 punishments is best? One: death. Two: life in prison without parole. Three: life in prison without parole, with the inmate required to make payments to the victim's family from work the inmate does in prison. Four: life in prison, with parole possible after 50 years, if the inmate has made payment in full to the victim's family.
Death | 44% |
Life In Prison Without Parole | 15% |
Life In Prison, No Parole, Payments | 30% |
Life In Prison, Parole After 50 Years, Payments | 11% |
Source: SurveyUSA / KWCH-TV
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 500 Kansas adults, conducted on Feb. 12, 2007. Margin of error is 4.2 per cent.