A recent Washington Post opin­ion poll found that Marylanders pre­fer the sen­tence of life in prison over the death penal­ty. In the October 2007 poll of 1,103 Maryland adults, respon­dents were asked to choose between the sen­tence of life in prison with­out parole or the death penal­ty for the crime of mur­der: 52% said they favored life with­out parole and 43% sup­port­ed cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. Among black respon­dents, sup­port for life with­out parole was even stronger, with 65% respond­ing that they pre­ferred the sen­tence of life in prison and only 29% choos­ing the death penal­ty.

According to the Washington Post, sup­port for cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment in the­o­ry stands at 60%, but Marylanders hold nuanced views on the issue and are shift­ing away from the death penal­ty. Carla Hosford of Chevy Chase not­ed, ​“If we kill and they kill, who has learned any­thing?” In the com­ing year, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and oth­ers who oppose cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment are expect­ed to con­tin­ue efforts to abol­ish the death penal­ty in the state.

Last year, a nation­al Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed a sim­i­lar shift nation­al­ly. The poll found that Americans are almost even­ly split when giv­en the two sen­tenc­ing options, with 50% favor­ing the death penal­ty and 46% pre­fer­ring life without parole.

(Washington Post, October 26, 2007). See Public Opinion and Life Without Parole.

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