The Complete Field Poll, "Tabulations From a Survey of California Registered Voters about the Death Penalty and Life in Prison Without the Possibility of Parole," is available in Adobe .pdf format.
"Field Poll: Less voter support for death penalty," is the San Francisco Chronicle's report written by Marisa Lagos.
As they have for more than five decades, California voters overwhelmingly support the death penalty - but in a marked shift, more voters now prefer that convicted murderers be sentenced to life without parole instead of death, according to the latest Field Poll.
The survey, conducted this month, comes as criminal-justice-reform advocates are gathering signatures for a 2012 ballot measure that would ban capital punishment in California.
The poll shows they have their work cut out for them: A solid 68 percent of voters favor keeping the death penalty, with conservatives overwhelmingly in support and nearly half of liberals opposed. But for the first time since the poll began asking the question 11 years ago, more voters - 48 percent - say they would prefer that someone convicted of first-degree murder serve life without the possibility of parole. Forty percent prefer the death penalty.
Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo noted that 11 years ago, 44 percent of those polled said they preferred death as punishment for first-degree murder and only 37 percent in favored life in prison. Last year, it was nearly evenly split.
But this year, the debate has gathered steam in California and elsewhere. The recent execution of a Georgia man many believe was innocent reignited the debate nationally, and executions have been on hold in California since 2006 because of a lawsuit challenging the state's lethal injection method.
Forty-three percent of voters surveyed by the Field Poll said they think the death penalty is cheaper than life imprisonment, while 41 percent think it is more expensive.
"FIELD POLL: Voters divided over death penalty," by Ben Goad in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Most California voters support the death penalty, but a growing number prefer sentencing convicted killers to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a new survey found.
Sixty-eight percent of the state's voters want to keep the death penalty in place, while 27 percent would like to get rid of it and 5 percent are without an opinion, according to today's Field Poll.
Forty-eight percent of voters would rather see a sentence of life without parole for someone found guilty of first-degree murder, while 40 percent would prefer to put them to death.
And:
The plurality of voters who favor life sentences over the death penalty represents a reversal from past polls. A similar poll conducted last year found voters split almost evenly on the issue. In 2000, 37 percent favored life in prison, while 44 percent preferred executing first-degree murderers.
"It's flipped in the last 11 years," said DiCamillo, who cited several factors that likely contributed to the reversal.
First is an increase of people who believe innocent people are executed too often and that there's no way to correct such mistakes. In 1989, just 23 percent of California's voters felt that way, but 39 percent now do, according to today's survey.
Over the same period, there has also been an increase, from 27 to 45 percent, in the number of voters who believe people sentenced to life without parole really will never get out of prison, the poll found.
"Californians remain staunchly in favor of death penalty, poll finds," by Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee.
As death penalty opponents work to get a ballot measure before California voters next fall to abolish capital punishment, a new Field Poll indicates the initiative would be a tough sell.
More than two-thirds of state voters – 68 percent – favor keeping the death penalty, the poll found, with 27 percent favoring abolition and 5 percent expressing no opinion.
"We've polled on this for 55 years," Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said. "It's changed a little here and there, but just removing the death penalty as a potential punishment is opposed. That's pretty clear."
Death penalty opponents launched an effort in August to replace capital punishment with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, something they said would save the state millions of dollars each year.
On that point, the poll released today found that more voters – 48 percent – now support imposing a life-without-parole sentence for first-degree murderers than those who favor the death penalty – 40 percent – in such cases.
"I think what the public had in mind is the use of the death penalty for very heinous crimes, like multiple cop killings or terrorists," DiCamillo said.
California Taxpayers for Justice has issued a news release, "Historic Turn Away from the Death Penalty in California; Strong Preference for Life Without Parole Among Voters." Here's the complete release:
For the first time, a statewide poll conducted by Field Poll confirmed that more voters in California prefer a sentence of life without the possibility of parole over the death penalty.
“This is heartening news for SAFE California. We see this as a historic shift that will carry us through to the elections,” said Jeanne Woodford, former San Quentin warden and spokesperson for the campaign to put an initiative on the ballot to replace the death penalty with life without parole at the November 2012 election.
The Field Poll results document a 15-point shift over the last decade in support for life without parole over the death penalty. In 2000, polling numbers were at 37% to 44%, with the death penalty edging out life without parole. Last year, the same polling firm reported results of 42% to 41%, with a one-point preference for life without parole over the death penalty.
“What we have today is an 8-point preference for life without parole. This is very significant in terms of a shift in public opinion in support of replacing the death penalty that bodes very well for the ballot initiative,” said David Binder of David Binder Research. “It’s important to note that when voters hear the specifics of the measure—that convicted murderers will be required to work and pay restitution into a victims’ compensation fund and how much money will be saved—a strong majority of voters support the initiative.”
The SAFE California campaign also sets aside $100 million in budget savings in the “SAFE California Fund” to investigate open rape and murder cases.
“Once voters understand that the death penalty is far more expensive than life without parole we are sure that support will grow even stronger,” added Woodford. “While we pour money into a broken system, 46% of murders and 56% of reported rapes go unsolved every year in California. The poll results show California voters are ready to dump this dangerous system for one that actually provides savings and real public safety.”
Support for life without parole was particularly strong among Latino and African-American voters, at 55% and 66% support for permanent imprisonment over the death penalty respectively.
The SAFE California Campaign is supported by a coalition of law enforcement, murder victim family members and exonerees, along with a broad range of organizations, that will soon begin gathering signatures to place an initiative on the ballot to replace California’s costly death penalty with life in prison without possibility of parole.
Related posts are in the public opinion polling index. Earlier coverage of the California ballot initiative begins at the link.
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