Evolving standards of decency are affecting opinion in New Jersey, as in the rest of the world. A May 2002 Rutgers Eagleton Poll revealed dramatic reversals of public opinion among New Jerseyans. When asked to choose between execution and life in prison without possibility of parole for people convicted of murder, 48% favor life while 36% support death. Even among the 36% who support the death penalty, 43% reversed their position when offered an alternative of life, plus restitution. Sixty-six percent of N.J. residents said they support a one-year death penalty moratorium here.

"Our poll shows the apparent consensus in favor of capital punishment is just a mirage. We found worries about false convictions and unfair application of the death penalty to minorities and the poor. And when we asked the public to consider an alternative punishment for murder, it is evenly divided between the death penalty and life without parole,"

Quinnipiac University Professor Scott McLean, summarizing a recent poll