According to a recent poll con­duct­ed by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, only 62% of respon­dents sup­port cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment for per­sons con­vict­ed of mur­der, and Americans pre­fer the sen­tenc­ing option of life with­out parole when giv­en the choice. Overall sup­port for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment has fall­en since Quinnipiac’s poll in June 2004, when sup­port reg­is­tered 65%. Similar shifts in pub­lic opin­ion found grow­ing sup­port for life-with­out-parole sen­tences. In the December poll when respon­dents were giv­en a choice, only 42% sup­port­ed cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment while 46% sup­port­ed life with­out parole. (Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, December 18, 2004). Other nation­al polls have also not­ed a decrease in pub­lic sup­port for the death penal­ty. The 62% sup­port report­ed here is one of the low­est lev­els in recent years. See Public Opinion and Life Without Parole.

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