New polling results released by the University of Kentucky Survey Center reveal that Kentuckians over­whelm­ing­ly choose alter­na­tives over the death penal­ty as the most appro­pri­ate pun­ish­ment for those con­vict­ed of aggra­vat­ed mur­der. When asked to select the most appro­pri­ate sen­tenc­ing option from choic­es cur­rent­ly avail­able to Kentucky jurors serv­ing in cap­i­tal mur­der tri­als, 67% select­ed sen­tences oth­er than the death penal­ty. The first choice among respon­dents was life with­out parole.

The poll found that while only 30.5% of those polled select­ed the death penal­ty, 36.2% chose life with­out parole, 10.3% select­ed life with the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole in 25 years, 5.6% select­ed life with the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole in 20 years, and 15.5% chose a 20 – 50 year prison terms. Since 1997, sup­port for alter­na­tives to the death penal­ty in Kentucky has steadi­ly increased from 38% in 1997 to over 67% this year.

(“Abolition Now,” Newsletter of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, December 2006). See Public Opinion, Life Without Parole, and DPIC’s 2006 Year End Report (PDF).

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