Quinnipiac Poll Finds Majority of New Jerseyans Favor Life Without Parole Over The Death Penalty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2007

For Information, contact: Celeste Fitzgerald, (973) 635-6396


Quinnipiac Poll Finds Majority of New Jerseyans Favor Life Without Parole Over The Death Penalty
Public Support continues to Trend Away from Executions


TRENTON – A Quinnipiac University poll released today shows that New Jerseyans prefer - by a 10-point margin - the punishment of life in prison without parole over the death penalty.

By a 51 to 41 % margin, the poll found that New Jerseyans believe that life in prison without parole is the more appropriate punishment for murder.

"This poll demonstrates that a majority of New Jerseyans agree with the conclusion of the distinguished Death Penalty Study Commission, which is that the death penalty in our state is a failed experiment in every respect and should be replaced with the tough punishment of life in prison without parole," said Celeste Fitzgerald, program director of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

The poll results reflect a continued trend away from the death penalty, with an additional 6% of voters choosing life without parole over the death penalty from the last poll conducted by Quinnipiac University in 2003.

This trend away from capital punishment is also seen nationally. Last year for the first time, the national Gallup poll reported that Americans now prefer life without parole over the death penalty. According to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington DC, in 2006, death sentences in the U.S. dropped to their lowest annual level in 30 years

NJADP has campaigned since 1999 for an end to the death penalty. It is the core group of more than 200 New Jersey organizations and 10,000 members representing a wide variety of groups and interests.