U.S.: Majority of Voters Claim Presidential Candidate Opinion on the Death Penalty is ‘Very Important’

According to a new IFC poll, there is overwhelming support for the death penalty across political parties, with the majority of voters claiming that Presidential candidate opinion on the death penalty is "very important." Additionally, only 12% of Americans felt the death penalty would be abolished in the US in the near future. Here is a link to the poll results.

Also, IFC will premiere the original documentary At the Death House Door tomorrow, which will provide viewers with an intimate look at the death penalty in Texas. We also have the trailer/clips from At The Death House Door available for posting. The New York Times did a story on At the Death House Door.

New York, NY – May 27, 2008 – On the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the constitutionality of lethal injection (Baze v. Rees), IFC and E-Poll Market Research announced today the results of a new independent poll examining American voters’ attitudes towards the death penalty, and the significance of the death penalty as a key issue in the upcoming election. The national poll was conducted for IFC by the network’s political polling partner, E-Poll Market Research, as part of IFC’s year-long “Election Coverage for the Rest of Us” campaign. Among other results, the poll revealed overwhelming support for the death penalty across political parties, with the majority of voters claiming that Presidential candidate opinion on the death penalty is “very important.” In addition, only 12% of Americans felt the death penalty would be abolished in the United States in the near future.

The network will also premiere the original documentary At the Death House Door, which will provide viewers with an intimate look at the death penalty in Texas, May 29.

IFC’s recently launched “Election Coverage for the Rest of Us” is a comprehensive multiplatform initiative that is part of the network’s expanding News division and overall focus on being the voice of independent culture and thought. Leading up to the ’08 Presidential Election, IFC News will help viewers deconstruct American politics and the electoral process; showcase key stories, issues and events from popular and political culture and highlight the role of independent thought within the political landscape through a series of political polls fielded by its partner, E-Poll Market Research, and exclusive specials.

“Our poll shows that the death penalty is an important, but thorny issue. Popular support for the death penalty remains remarkably strong, and the clear majority of voters say it is a ‘very important’ issue in the coming Presidential campaign," said Evan Shapiro, General Manager of IFC. "However, it seems there may be a connection between so called 'sanctity of life' issues, and that they contain some potentially unforeseen land mines for Presidential and Congressional candidates.”

“58% of voters say they ‘totally/somewhat agree’ that the death penalty is very important for Presidential candidates, and 75% say they ‘totally/somewhat’ agree that abortion is very important. However, 45% ‘totally/somewhat’ disagree that it makes sense for a candidate to be both pro-life and pro death penalty, and 58% see an inherent contradiction between being both pro-abortion and anti death penalty. This contradiction is especially apparent among Democrats and Independents, giving Democrats and Republicans something to think about as they move into more moderate states and the general election.”

The following poll questions were among those asked of registered voters to gauge their views on the death penalty, and its potential role as a key issue in the upcoming Presidential election:

1.) Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted for murder?

IN FAVOR:

Total Respondents: 73%
Republicans: 85%
Democrats: 65%
Independent/not-affiliated: 73%

2.) Presidential Candidate opinion about the death penalty is very important to me.

AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):

Total Respondents: 58%
Republicans: 63%
Democrats: 58%
Independent/not-affiliated: 52%

3.) Presidential Candidate opinion about abortion is very important to me.

AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):

Total Respondents: 75%
Republicans: 78%
Democrats: 77%
Independent/not-affiliated: 69%

4.) It makes sense for a Presidential Candidate to be both for the death penalty and against abortion.

AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):

Total Respondents: 55%
Republicans: 68%
Democrats: 45%
Independent/not-affiliated: 53%

5.) It makes sense for a Presidential Candidate to be both for abortion and against the death penalty.

AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):

Total Respondents: 42%
Republicans: 30%
Democrats: 49%
Independent/not-affiliated: 44%

6.) Abortion and the Death Penalty are two separate issues and cannot be connected (Agree or Disagree)

AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):

Total Respondents: 82%
Republicans: 82%
Democrats: 82%
Independent/not-affiliated: 80%

7.) 91% of all known executions in the world take place in Iran, Iraq, China, Sudan, Pakistan, and the USA. Does that lessen your support for the Death Penalty? (asked among those who are in favor of the Death Penalty ONLY)

YES:

Total Respondents: 8%
Republicans: 5%
Democrats: 13%
Independent/not-affiliated: 7%

8.) Based on the below statements, do you think that the death penalty is going to be abolished in the U.S. in the near future?

- New Jersey abolished the death penalty.

- Over 100 people released from death row after they were exonerated.

- 91% of all known executions in the world take place in Iran, Iraq, China, Sudan, Pakistan and the

USA.

- The Supreme Court reviewed the issue of lethal injection

- 60% of all American executions in 2007 were in Texas in 2007.

- 36 States still have the Death penalty.

YES:

Total Respondents: 12%
Republicans: 11%
Democrats: 15%
Independent/not-affiliated: 10%

E-Poll randomly selected qualified respondents from their nationwide proprietary panel to participate in an online survey. IFC designed the questionnaire, with input from E-Poll Market Research. E-Poll conducted the survey which was fielded from May 15-18. There were a total of N=1,211 completed surveys meeting all demographic and screening criteria. A total of N=1,211 completes yields a margin of error of + 3%.

About IFC

IFC (The Independent Film Channel) is the first and only network dedicated to independent film and related programming, 24 hours a day, uncut and uncensored. Operating under the mantra 'always, uncut,' IFC presents feature-length films, "cult classics," thought-provoking original documentaries such as At the Death House Door and This Film Is Not Yet Rated, shorts, animated series, exclusive web series, and television's most comprehensive independent film library. The network also offers some of the most innovative and edgy original series on television, including the sketch comedy "The Whitest Kids U' Know." Providing a voice for independent thought not found anywhere else on television, IFC broadens the audience for independent film and supports the independent film community through its exclusive live coverage of notable film events like the Independent Spirit Awards. The network's On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of all of IFC's original series in HD before they air on the linear network. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

Click here to watch video.

Source: IFC

Comments

Indiana's governor turns down clemency request, says execution planned for Thursday will go forward

Indiana’s governor turned down a clemency request and says an execution planned for Thursday will go forward against a man who killed his girlfriend’s two children in 2010 Indiana's governor turned down a clemency request Monday and said an execution planned for this week would go forward for a man who set a fire that killed his girlfriend's two children in 2010. Gov. Mike Braun said he would follow the Indiana Parole Board's recommendation to let the death sentence stand for Jeffrey Weisheit. “The Indiana Department of Correction will continue preparations to carry out the court-ordered sentence of execution” Thursday, said Braun, a Republican.

Indiana governor rejects brain scans for death row inmate ahead of execution

Gov. Mike Braun is still weighing Jeffrey Weisheit’s clemency request, however. Gov. Mike Braun’s administration will not allow death row inmate Jeffrey Weisheit to undergo additional brain scans before his scheduled execution next week. The decision follows weeks of legal efforts by his attorneys to obtain additional medical evidence for his clemency case. Braun’s general counsel, Stephanie Flittner, met with Weisheit’s legal team Wednesday to discuss the testing and his pending clemency request.

Indiana executes Jeffrey Weisheit

An Indiana man who admitted killing his girlfriend's two children was executed early Thursday in the first of three lethal injections scheduled for the same day in the U.S. Jeffrey Weisheit killed the children, ages 8 and 5, by setting fire to his girlfriend's house in the Evansville area in 2010. The remains of 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch were recovered from the ruins of a fire at their home in the Evansville area. Alyssa’s body was in a closet. Caleb’s body was on a mattress, restrained with duct tape. A railroad flare was in his underwear, and another was under his body. The children’s mother, Lisa Lynch, was at work at the time. She was in a relationship with Weisheit, but it was breaking down, investigators said. Weisheit spent 13 years on death row after his conviction. Weisheit died at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. The lethal injection started just after midnight, and he was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m., according to Noelle Russell, ...

‘I’m Not Incompetent’ Christa Pike’s execution doctor, Mark Fowler, speaks.

Dr. Mark Fowler knew something was wrong after 45 minutes passed without word from the warden. In most cases, executions take no more than ten minutes. When he was summoned from his waiting room to the chamber next door, he saw 50-year-old Christa Pike, who’d received two lethal doses of pentobarbital that night, strapped to a gurney, gasping for air. “She’s not dead,” Fowler recalls the warden saying. “I thought, Well, in human beings there’s a spectrum of responses to medications and we’ll give it a few more minutes,” he says. Another half-hour passed. Fowler worried she might survive with irreversible brain damage. “She’s going to be in a permanent vegetative state with a quarter-million dollars in medical expenses.” He came back in and diagnosed her as comatose. The deputy commissioner ordered the execution to stop. Now, instead of taking part in Pike’s death, Fowler’s job was to bring her back to life.

USA | 3 states to carry out rare triple execution this week

If all three executions are carried out as planned, it will be the second triple execution in the U.S. this year, reflecting an overall uptick in the death penalty since the beginning of 2025. Three states are planning to carry out a rare triple execution this week on Nov. 5. Indiana is set to execute Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, by lethal injection for the 2010 murders of his girlfriend's two children, 8-year-old Alyssa Lynch and her 5-year-old brother, Caleb. The children were burned alive in their home.

Vigil planned ahead of high-profile Oklahoma inmate's execution

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — After the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied clemency for a high-profile death row inmate in Oklahoma, a local organization is protesting his execution. James Pavatt was sentenced to death for the 2001 murder of Rob Andrew, a 39-year-old Oklahoma City advertising executive and father of two. Evidence presented at Pavatt's trial showed that he began an affair with Andrew's wife, Brenda Andrew, in 2001. Prosecutors argued that the murder was especially cruel and that Pavatt killed Andrew for an $800,000 insurance policy.

Texas | Jury recommends death penalty for man convicted of killing San Benito police lieutenant

A Cameron County jury recommended the death penalty for Rogelio Martinez for killing a San Benito police lieutenant during a police chase in Brownsville. Martinez stared forward as the judge announced the recommendation. Lt. Milton Resendez's family told Martinez in court that their lives will never be the same. Resendez's wife and siblings walked past cameras and declined to speak with reporters. Inside the courtroom, where no audio or video recording was allowed, Resendez's sister Jackie raised her voice at Martinez during impact statements.

Indiana Parole Board hears testimony on clemency for man scheduled for Nov. 5 execution

Jeffrey Weisheit set his house on fire in 2010, killing his girlfriend’s two young children he was watching. The Indiana Parole Board will now make a recommendation in the coming days to Governor Mike Braun on whether to grant clemency to condemned killer Jeffrey Weisheit. Jeffrey is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Nov. 5 for the 2010 murder of his girlfriend's 2 children in Vanderburgh County.

US woman who survived botched execution says she's in constant pain

Convicted murderer Christa Pike said Friday that she is in constant pain, a month after surviving a botched execution attempt in the US state of Tennessee. "There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," Pike said in a statement released by her lawyers. "My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts," she said. "I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul."

François Mitterrand, the Justice Minister Who Sent 45 Men to the Guillotine

The socialist president celebrated for abolishing the death penalty in France sent 45 condemned men to the guillotine when he was Minister of Justice. In French political history, François Mitterrand is the father of the historic victory of May 1981. He remains associated with one of the greatest moral laws of the Fifth Republic: the definitive end of capital executions, carried through with Robert Badinter in the autumn of 1981.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog