USA - California. Support for death penalty slips, a researcher reported today.

Support for death penalty slips. A majority of Californians (66 %) still favor the death penalty, a researcher reported today. The survey conducted by Craig Haney, a UC Santa Cruz psychology professor and lawyer, also found a sharp decline in respondents who consider the death penalty a deterrent. While 74 % thought it had deterrent value in Haney's analogous 1989 survey, that was down to 44 % this year. Haney's findings were consistent with those of last month's Field Poll of the California electorate, in which 67 % of respondents expressed support for the death penalty. The professor queried 800 jury-eligible Californians in February and March for his survey. The survey had a 3.5 %-point margin of error.