USA - Colorado. A Quinnipiac University poll said that 69 % of the state's voters think the death penalty should stay

A new Quinnipiac University poll said that 69 % of the state's voters think the death penalty should stay on the books while 24 % want it replaced by life in prison without parole, and are evenly split on whether Gov. John Hickenlooper, who last month (see May 22) blocked the execution of a multiple-murderer, deserves re-election. The split is almost identical for those who disapprove of Hickenlooper's decision to grant an indefinite reprieve to Nathan Dunlap, who killed 4 people in 1993 and was due to be executed in August. Voters are divided, 45 percent to 44 %, over whether Hickenlooper, a Democrat, deserves re-election. He narrowly leads his lone declared challenger, former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, 42-41. Nearly 3/4 of voters said the issue would be "very important" or "somewhat important" in their vote next year. Republicans and independents overwhelmingly support the death penalty, by 87-11 and 73-21 margins, respectively, the poll suggested. Democrats support it more narrowly, 49-41. The poll of 1,065 registered voters was taken from June 5-11 with live telephone interviews on landlines and cellphones. It has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 % points.