By a margin of 46-42 percent, New Yorkers do not want to see the death penalty reinstated, according to a recent Siena Research Institute poll of state voters. The poll also found that a clear majority (56 percent) support the sentencing option of life without parole over capital punishment.

By a margin of 46-42 percent, New Yorkers do not want to see the death penalty reinstated, according to a recent Siena Research Institute poll of state voters. The poll also found that a clear majority support the sentencing option of life without parole over capital punishment. “Nearly half of New York voters are opposed to reinstituting the death penalty and a clear majority (56 percent) support life without parole as the preferred punishment for first-degree murderers,” said Joe Caruso, Director of Polling for the Siena Research Institute. Only 29 percent supported the death penalty when an alternative sentence was offered. The poll questioned 600 registered New York voters between February 28 and March 4, 2005. (Siena Research Institute Press Release, March 8, 2005). See more about the survey. See Public Opinion.