USA - Maryland. Support for the death penalty has dropped 8% over the last 2 years

Support for the death penalty has dropped 8% over the last 2 years, according to a statewide poll released today. In January 2011, Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies Inc. found 56 % of Maryland voters "favor" the death penalty. But in a survey completed last week, Gonzales found support dropped to 49 %. Gov. Martin O'Malley has declared abolishing the death penalty his 1st priority for this session of the General Assembly. Opposition to the death penalty has increased from 36 % 2 years ago to 44 % today. Among some groups, opposition to the death penalty is especially strong, with 60 % of Democratic voters and 59 % of African-Americans opposing it, according to the survey. Meanwhile, 77 % of Republicans favor capital punishment. O'Malley wants to replace capital punishment with life without possibility of parole, a position with strong support, according to the poll. Of the voters surveyed, 61 % said life in prison without the possibility of parole is an acceptable alternative to the death penalty. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 %.