Sixty-five per­cent of vot­ers in North Carolina favor sus­pend­ing the death penal­ty until ques­tions about its accu­ra­cy and fair­ness can be stud­ied accord­ing to a recent Hart Research poll spon­sored by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers.The poll found that even among vot­ers who iden­ti­fy them­selves as strong sup­port­ers of the death penal­ty, 43% still favor a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions while an in-depth study of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment is conducted.

Sixty-five per­cent of vot­ers in North Carolina favor sus­pend­ing the death penal­ty until ques­tions about its accu­ra­cy and fair­ness can be stud­ied accord­ing to a recent Hart Research poll spon­sored by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. The poll found that even among vot­ers who iden­ti­fy them­selves as strong sup­port­ers of the death penal­ty, 43% still favor a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions while an in-depth study of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment is con­duct­ed.

In oth­er results, the poll revealed that 64% of vot­ers who favor the death penal­ty and 90% of vot­ers who oppose cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment back a tem­po­rary halt on exe­cu­tions until a study deter­mines whether defen­dants in death penal­ty cas­es have had access to com­pe­tent legal coun­sel and evi­dence that might demon­strate their evi­dence, such as DNA. Among Republican respon­dents, 54% said they sup­port a mora­to­ri­um, and 76% of Democratic respon­dents favored it. The poll also found that 54% of men, 74% of women, 61% of whites, and 78% of African Americans sup­port a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions.

In 2004, the North Carolina Senate passed leg­is­la­tion that would have tem­porar­i­ly halt­ed exe­cu­tions while a death penal­ty study was con­duct­ed, but the mea­sure failed to pass out of the full leg­is­la­ture . A new House Select Study Committee on Capital Punishment is sched­uled to meet for the first time in December to begin study­ing issues relat­ed to the accu­ra­cy and fair­ness of North Carolina’s death penal­ty. The pan­el’s rec­om­men­da­tions will be con­sid­ered by the General Assembly when it recon­venes in May. (North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers Press Release, ​“New Poll Finds Majority of North Carolinians Favor a Moratorium on the Death Penalty, December 1, 2005). See Public Opinion.




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