NEW JERSEYANS’ OPINIONS ON
THE DEATH PENALTY
Conducted for:
New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the
Death Penalty
Conducted by:
Bloustein Center for Survey
Research
Patrick Murray, Director
Data Collection:
April
2005
NEW JERSEYANS’ OPINIONS ON
THE DEATH PENALTY
SUMMARY
In order to assess New
Jerseyans’ opinions on capital punishment, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to
the Death Penalty commissioned the Bloustein Center for Survey Research at
Rutgers University to conduct an independent statewide survey of New Jersey
residents. The survey involved
telephone interviews conducted between April 5 and 11, 2005 with a random
probability sample of 801 New Jersey residents 18 years old and older. Percentages for this survey have a sampling
error of ±3.5 percent.
x When
asked about their support for capital punishment in general, a majority of New
Jerseyans say they favor use of the death penalty for persons convicted of
murder – 61 percent to 31 percent opposed.
However, opposition to the death penalty in New Jersey has risen by 8
percentage points since 1999.
x Support
for the death penalty weakens when presented with the option of life in prison
with absolutely no chance of parole.
Nearly half of state residents (47%) prefer life imprisonment as the
penalty for murder compared to only a third (34%) who would choose the death
penalty. This represents a reverse in
opinion from six years ago when 44 percent of New Jerseyans preferred the death
penalty compared to 37 percent for life imprisonment.
x Among
those who favor capital punishment over life imprisonment, 38 percent say they
would support life in prison if restitution to the victim’s family were part of
the sentence while over half (58%) would still prefer the death penalty. Among those who cannot choose between the
death penalty and life in prison, nearly half (46%) say that the inclusion of
restitution would make them more likely to support a life sentence rather than a
capital one.
x Almost
all residents (94%) believe that innocent people are sometimes convicted of
murder. More than one-third of death
penalty supporters (36%) say they are less likely to support the death penalty
after hearing that over 100 death row convictions have been overturned. However, knowing that some murder victims’
families are opposed to the death penalty has little effect on moving public
opinion.
x When
the cost of prosecuting capital cases is taken into consideration, two thirds
of New Jerseyans (66%) would prefer that the money be used on services for
victims or for crime prevention measures.
x Only
8 percent of registered voters report that they have ever voted for or against
a candidate largely due to the candidate’s position on the death penalty. This includes 7 percent of voters who favor
the death penalty and 11 percent of voters who oppose it.
x If
their state legislator voted to replace the death penalty with life in prison
with no chance of parole, 24 percent of New Jersey voters say they would be
more likely to vote for that legislator in the next election, while 15 percent
would be less likely. The majority of
New Jersey voters (58%) say that this issue would have no impact on their vote
intention.
x There
is some other indications in the survey that abolishing the death penalty may
be less of an issue for capital punishment supporters than it is for
opponents. Not surprisingly, just over
half (53%) of those voters who oppose the death penalty say that they would be
more inclined to cast their ballot for a legislator who voted to replace the
death penalty with life in prison without parole. Among voters who support capital punishment though, only (21%)
say they would be less inclined to vote for a legislator who took such an
action.
x Regardless
of their position on the death penalty, a large majority of New Jerseyans
support a one to two year moratorium on executions in order to study whether
the death penalty is being administered accurately, economically, and
fairly. Fully two-thirds of state
residents (63%) favor a temporary halt to executions compared with 1-in-3 (32%)
who oppose this.
x Support
for a one-year moratorium includes a majority (53%) of people who support the
death penalty.
SURVEY
INSTRUMENT
(n=801)
M1. Now, I’d like
to ask you a few questions about your views of the death penalty here in New
Jersey. Do you favor or oppose the
death penalty for persons convicted of murder? [PROBE: Is that strongly or somewhat
[favor/oppose]?]
41% Strongly favor
20 Somewhat favor
11 Somewhat oppose
20 Strongly oppose
8 Don’t
Know/Refused
M2. What do you
think should be the penalty for murder – the death penalty or life in prison
with absolutely no chance of parole?
34% The death penalty
47 Life in prison with absolutely no chance
of parole --> SKIP TO Q.M4
19 Don’t Know/Refused
M3. Would you
favor or oppose life in prison with no chance of parole as an alternative to
the death penalty if the sentence included either restitution to the victim’s
family or payment to a charity of the family’s choice?
47% Already favor from M2
22 Favor
26 Oppose
6 Don’t
Know/Refused
M4. Many states
are considering a moratorium, or temporary halt, on executions until it can be
determined if the death penalty is being administered accurately, economically,
and fairly. Do you favor or oppose a
one to two year moratorium on executions in New Jersey while the death penalty
is studied? [PROBE: Is that strongly or
somewhat [favor/oppose]?]
37% Strongly favor
26 Somewhat favor
9 Somewhat
oppose
23 Strongly oppose
6 Don’t
Know/Refused
M5. Studies
in other states show that the death penalty is much more expensive than life
without possibility of parole, in part because death penalty trials are longer
and more complex. Would you prefer that the state spend that
money on services for victims of crime or on other measures to fight crime such
as extra police, or should it continue to be spent on prosecuting death penalty
cases?
66% Spend money on services for victims/measures to fight crime
24 Continue
to spend on prosecuting death penalty cases
11 Don’t Know/Refused
M6. Have you ever voted for or against a
candidate for public office based largely on the candidate’s position on the
death penalty?
8% Yes,
have voted for/against candidate
based on death penalty position
90 No, have not voted for/against candidate
based on death penalty
2 Don’t
Know/Refused
M7. If your STATE
LEGISLATOR voted to replace the death penalty with life in prison with
absolutely no chance of parole, would you be more likely or less likely to vote
for him or her, or would this make no difference in your vote choice? [If more/less likely, PROBE: Is that a lot or
only a little (more/less) likely?]
14% A lot more likely to vote for legislator
11 A little more likely to vote for legislator
57 Would make no difference in vote choice
8 A
little less likely to vote for legislator
6 A
lot less likely to vote for legislator
4 Don’t
Know/Refused
M8. Do you think
that innocent people are sometimes convicted of murder, or that this never
happens?
94% Sometimes happens
3 Never
happens
2 Don’t
Know/Refused
[ROTATE M9-M10]
M9. The families of some victims in New Jersey
are opposed to the death penalty, either for moral reasons or because the long
process makes it hard for them to move on with their lives. Does knowing that some murder victims' families
are against capital punishment make you more likely to favor the death penalty,
more likely to oppose the death penalty, or does this make no difference in
your opinion?
6% More likely to favor
21 More
likely to oppose
70 No
difference
3 Don’t
Know/Refused
M10. Across the country, more than one hundred innocent people have been freed from death
row after their convictions were overturned, some as a result of DNA testing
and others as a result of the exposure
of false testimony and other new evidence. Does knowing that more than one hundred death row inmates were wrongly convicted make you more likely to
favor the death penalty, more likely to oppose the death penalty, or does this
make no difference in your opinion?
5% More likely to favor
50 More
likely to oppose
42 No
difference
4 Don’t
Know/Refused
Demographic
Characteristics (n=801) |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
Registered
Voter |
|
Family
Income |
82% |
Yes |
16% |
Under
$25,000 |
18 |
No |
29 |
$25-49,999 |
|
|
33 |
$50-99,999 |
|
Party
Identification |
22 |
$100,000
or more |
38% |
Democrat |
|
|
37 |
Independent/Other |
|
|
26 |
Republican |
|
Child
in the home |
|
|
38% |
Yes |
|
Gender |
62 |
No |
48% |
Male |
|
|
52 |
Female |
|
Years
in New Jersey |
|
|
13% |
10 or
less |
|
Education |
29 |
11 to 30 |
48% |
High
School or Less |
58 |
More than
30/entire life |
23 |
Some
College |
|
|
29 |
College
Grad |
|
Region
of the State |
|
|
45% |
North |
|
Race |
26 |
Central |
72% |
White,
non-Hispanic |
30 |
South |
28 |
Hispanic,
Black, Asian, other |
|
|
|
|
|
Type
of Municipality |
|
Age |
10% |
Major
Urban Center |
19% |
18 to 29 |
12 |
Other
Urban Area |
41 |
30 to 49 |
38 |
Older
Town & Suburb |
21 |
50 to 64 |
35 |
Growing
Suburb & Town |
20 |
65 and
older |
5 |
Rural
Area |
|
|
|
|
|
Religion |
|
Religious
Attendance |
43% |
Catholic |
8% |
More than
once a week |
28 |
Protestant |
28 |
Weekly |
6 |
Evangelical |
16 |
Once or
twice a month |
5 |
Jewish |
20 |
Few times
a year |
3 |
Other |
15 |
Seldom |
7 |
Agnostic/Atheist |
11 |
Never |
7 |
No answer |
2 |
No answer |