---
title: 'OPINION POLLS: Majority of New Yorkers Reject the Death Penalty'
description: 'Most New Yorkers would choose a sentence of life without parole (LWOP) over the death penalty for those convicted of murder. In a recent poll published in…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/opinion-polls-majority-of-new-yorkers-reject-the-death-penalty'
section: news
date: '2006-03-24T16:56:39-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:22:21-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

Most New Yorkers would choose a sentence of life without parole (LWOP) over the death penalty for those convicted of murder. In a recent poll published in Newsday, 53% of N.Y. adults said LWOP is the better penalty, whereas only 38% chose the death penalty, with 9% uncertain. New York's death penalty was found unconstitutional by the state's highest court in 2004. The legislature elected not to modify the statute.

(Source: Blum and Weprin Associates / Newsday - Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,457 New York adults, conducted from Feb. 26 to Mar. 5, 2006; Angus Reid Global Scan, March 11, 2006).