Is the death penalty administered fairly? 3/4 of Illinois...

Is the death penalty administered fairly? 3/4 of Illinois residents are concerned that innocent people may have been put to death, according to a new poll. Less than 1/4 of respondents said that they had very little or no concern that innocent people may have been put to death by the state. Of those who said that the death penalty may have been wrongly applied, 39 % said they were greatly concerned and 37 % said they were fairly concerned. Most Illinois residents (59 %) believe that innocent people rarely are executed, compared with only 3 percent who said that it never happens. A telephone survey of 702 Illinois residents recently was conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide for the Northwestern University School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions. When given a choice, more Illinois residents (47 %) said that they favored life in prison with no chance for parole as the more appropriate penalty for murder than the death penalty (33 %).