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

Florida executes Michael Tanzi

Florida on Tuesday executed a death row inmate described by one local detective as a "fledgling serial killer" for the murder of a beloved Miami Herald employee. Florida executed Michael Tanzi on Tuesday, 25 years after the murder of beloved Miami Herald employee Janet Acosta, who was attacked in broad daylight on her lunch break in 2000. Michael Tanzi, 48, was executed by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Raiford and pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. ET.

South Carolina | Man who ambushed off-duty cop to face firing squad in second execution of its kind

Mikal Mahdi, 48, who was found guilty of killing an off-duty police officer and a convenience store worker, is the second inmate scheduled to executed by South Carolina's new firing squad A murderer who ambushed and shot an off duty police officer eight times before burning his body in a killing spree is set to become the second person to die by firing squad. South Carolina's highest court has rejected the last major appeal from Mikal Mahdi, 41, who is to be put to death with three bullets to the heart at 6pm on April 11 at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia. Mahdi's lawyers said his original lawyers put on a shallow case trying to spare his life that didn't call on relatives, teachers or people who knew him and ignored the impact of weeks spent in solitary confinement in prison as a teen.

Lethal Injection, Electric Chair, or Firing Squad? An Inhumane Decision for Death Row Prisoners

South Carolina resumed executions with the firing squad killing of Brad Sigmon last month. Mikal Madhi’s execution date is days away. The curtain shrieked as it was yanked open to reveal a 67-year-old man tied to a chair. His arms were pulled uncomfortably behind his back. The red bull’s-eye target on his chest rose and fell as he desperately attempted to still his breathing. The man, Brad Sigmon, smiled at his attorney, Bo King, seated in the front row before guards placed a black bag over his head. King said Sigmon appeared to be trying his best to put on a brave face for those who had come to bear witness.

Afghanistan | Four men publicly executed by Taliban with relatives of victims shooting them 'six or seven times' at sport stadium

Four men have been publicly executed by the Taliban, with relatives of their victims shooting them several times in front of spectators at a sport stadium. Two men were shot around six to seven times by a male relative of the victims in front of spectators in Qala-i-Naw, the centre of Afghanistan's Badghis province, witnesses told an AFP journalist in the city. The men had been 'sentenced to retaliatory punishment' for shooting other men, after their cases were 'examined very precisely and repeatedly', the statement said. 'The families of the victims were offered amnesty and peace but they refused.'

South Carolina executes Mikal Mahdi

Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed for the 2004 murder of 56-year-old James Myers A man facing the death penalty for committing two murders was executed by firing squad on Friday, the second such execution in the US state of South Carolina this year. Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed for the 2004 murder of 56-year-old James Myers, an off-duty police officer, and the murder of a convenience store employee three days earlier. According to a statement from the prison, "the execution was performed by a three-person firing squad at 6:01 pm (2201 GMT)," with Mahdi pronounced dead four minutes later.

Louisiana | Lawyers of Jessie Hoffman speak about their final moments before execution

As Louisiana prepared its first execution in 15 years, a team of lawyers from Loyola Law were working to save Jessie Hoffman’s life. “I was a young lawyer three years out of law school, and Jessie was almost finished with his appeals at that time, and my boss told me we needed to file something for Jessie because he’s in danger of being executed,” Kappel said. Kappel and her boss came up with a civil lawsuit to file that said since they wouldn’t give him a protocol for his execution, he was being deprived of due process, and the lawsuit was in the legal process for the next 10 years.

USA | Why the firing squad may be making a comeback

South Carolina plans to execute Mikal Mahdi on Friday for the murder of a police officer, draping a hood over his head and firing three bullets into his heart. The choice to die by firing squad – rather than lethal injection or the electric chair – was Mahdi’s own, his attorney said last month: “Faced with barbaric and inhumane choices, Mikal Mahdi has chosen the lesser of three evils.” If it proceeds, Mahdi’s execution would be the latest in a recent string of events that have put the spotlight on the firing squad as a handful of US death penalty states explore alternatives to lethal injection, by far the nation’s dominant execution method.

Arizona | The cruelty of isolation: There’s nothing ‘humane’ about how we treat the condemned

On March 19, I served as a witness to the execution of a man named Aaron Gunches, Arizona’s first since 2022. During his time on death row, he begged for death and was ultimately granted what is likely more appropriately described as an emotionless state-assisted suicide. This experience has profoundly impacted me, leading to deep reflection on the nature of death, humanity, and the role we play in our final moments. When someone is in the end stages of life, we talk about hospice care, comfort, care, easing suffering and humane death. We strive for a “good death” — a peaceful transition. I’ve seen good ones, and I’ve seen bad, unplanned ones.

I spent 16 years in solitary in South Carolina. This is what it did to me. | Opinion

South Carolinian Randy Poindexter writes about the effects 16 years of solitary confinement had on him ahead of South Carolina’s planned execution of Mikal Mahdi , who spent months in solitary as a young man. For 16 years, I lived in a concrete cell. Twenty-three hours a day, every day, for more than 3,000 days, South Carolina kept me in solitary confinement. I was a young man before I was sent to solitary — angry, untreated and unwell. I made mistakes. But I wasn’t sentenced to madness. That’s what solitary did to me. My mental health worsened with each passing day. At first, paranoia and depression set in. Then, hallucinations and self-mutilation. I talked to people who weren’t there. I cut myself to feel something besides despair. I could do nothing as four of my friends and fellow prisoners took their own lives rather than endure another day of torturous isolation.

Execution date set for prisoner transferred to Oklahoma to face death penalty

An inmate who was transferred to Oklahoma last month to face the death penalty now has an execution date. George John Hanson, also known as John Fitzgerald Hanson, is scheduled to die on June 12 for the 1999 murder of 77-year-old Mary Bowles. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday set the execution date. The state’s Pardon and Parole Board has a tentative date of May 7 for Hanson’s clemency hearing, executive director Tom Bates said.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog