This from the Quinnipiac University Poll this morning:
CONNECTICUT VOTERS BACK DEATH FOR CHESHIRE KILLER 4-1,
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS;
MORE BACK DEATH PENALTY THAN LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE
By a 76 – 18 percent margin, Connecticut voters favor the death penalty for the convicted Cheshire home invasion murderer, compared to their 65 – 23 percent support for the death penalty in general, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
Prior to the Cheshire murders, surveys by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University showed support for the death penalty in Connecticut hovered at about 60 percent.
In today’s survey, 12 percent are undecided on the death penalty in general. The measure wins 80 – 12 support from Republicans, 52 – 37 percent support from Democrats and 68 – 18 support from independent voters.
Men back the death penalty 69 – 24 percent while women back it 62 – 22 percent.
In the specific Cheshire murder case, women back the death penalty 74 – 17 percent while men back it 78 – 19 percent.
Only 6 percent of Connecticut voters would base their vote for governor solely on a candidate’s position on the death penalty, while 91 percent would “consider other things” before deciding on a candidate.
“Similar to what we found in the Michael Ross case, support for the death penalty in a specific case can be higher than support in general. This is because some voters who oppose the death penalty in general support it for a particularly heinous crime,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.
-more-
Quinnipiac University Poll/October 13, 2010 – page 2
“Very few voters are making the death penalty the deciding issue in the race for governor,” Dr. Schwartz added.
Offered a choice of the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole, 46 percent of voters choose the death penalty while 41 percent prefer life in prison.
Deciding how to apply the death penalty, Connecticut voter opinions are:
- 7 percent say all people convicted of murder should be sentenced to death;
- 14 percent say no one should get the death penalty;
- 78 percent say the death penalty should depend on the circumstances of the case.
“Similar to past polls, the question wording on the death penalty is important. When voters have a choice between the death penalty and life in prison with no chance of parole,” support for the death penalty drops significantly,” Schwartz said.
From October 7 – 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,721 Connecticut registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points.