Californians Support Death Penalty by 2:1

In a poll conducted during the time the Michael Morales sentence confusion was taking place, people in the state remain strongly in favor of capital punishment.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Poll finds steady support for death penalty

Support for the death penalty remains high among Californians, with those favoring capital punishment outnumbering opponents by a 2-1 margin, according to a Field Poll scheduled for release today.

In the wake of two recent executions, support neither rose nor fell much from levels reported by the polling organization since 2000.

The latest poll showed support to be appreciably lower, however, than it was during the mid-1980s, when crime spiked nationally and became the dominant political issue.

Opinions also appear to have softened on issues such as executing minors, which the state hasn’t permitted in modern times and the U.S. Supreme Court abolished a year ago, as well as on questions such as whether the death penalty is fairly carried out.

As recently as two years ago, Californians were strongly convinced that the death sentencing process was fair and error-free. Today, they think so by a narrower margin of 48 percent to 39 percent.

The polling organization claims a sampling error rate of plus or minus 4.5 points for all adults polled and plus or minus 5.5 points for registered voters polled.

“Opinions on the death penalty are solidly in support, same thing as abortion,” said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo, who said no reversal appears imminent on either issue.

Nevertheless, he said, public opinion leaves room for changes in the way both procedures are carried out.

The poll of 500 California adults was conducted Feb. 12-26, soon after the state’s executions of Stanley Tookie Williams and Clarence Ray Allen. The polling coincided with on-again, off-again preparations to execute Michael Angelo Morales on Feb. 21.

Public reaction pinpointed on the aborted Morales execution was charted by a separate Field Poll, conducted Feb. 22-26. The response was not strong on either side of the Morales debate.

Although 46 percent of poll respondents said the state should have administered the lethal injection to Morales despite its inability to comply with a judge’s orders, 41 percent said a postponement was the correct decision. The execution has been put on hold until the results of a May court hearing on the injection procedure.

[more]