A recent poll administered by the Center for Survey Research at Penn State Harrisburg revealed that more Pennsylvanians prefer a life sentence over the death penalty for those convicted of murder. The poll found that only 42.9% of respondents chose the death penalty when also given the sentencing options of life with parole and life without parole. A total of 45% of respondents chose either life-without-parole (35.5%) or the sentence of life-with-parole (9.6%). Larry Frankel, legislative director for the ACLU, cited Pennsylvania’s six death-row exonerations compared with three executions since 1976 as “proof the system doesn’t work all the time.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 10, 2007).
Additional information about the poll may be found at https://www.aclupa.org/downloads/PennStatePollDPresults.pdf.
See Public Opinion and Life Without Parole.
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