USA - North Carolina. Poll shows support for death penalty

Poll shows support for death penalty. The poll released last week by the conservative Civitas Institute found 64 % of voters supported and 28 % opposed the death penalty. A poll a year ago by Civitas found 60 % supportive of and 27 % opposed to the death penalty. The poll found the death penalty supported by 70 % of white voters but just 37 % of African American voters. Another poll, conducted by the Elon University in March, gave quite different results. Less than half of those polled believed that the the death penalty is the “most appropriate punishment for first degree murder.” When the same question was asked in 2005, 61% chose the death penalty as the appropriate sentence. In 2009, that number had dropped to 48%, the same percentage recorded in the University's 2007 poll. About 39% said life in prison without parole would be the better punishment in 2009, an increase from the 27% who supported that option in 2005.