No death penalty in New Jersey?

Some good news today: A new poll just released in New Jersey says people in that state pretty strongly favor life without parole over the death penalty:


Nearly half of all New Jersey residents prefer life in prison without the possibility of parole as the penalty for murder, with only one third choosing capital punishment, according to a new public opinion survey by the Bloustein Center for Survey Research at Rutgers University. The poll, released today by New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP), indicates a continuing erosion of public support for the death penalty in the Garden State. Just six years ago, New Jerseyans preferred the death penalty to life in prison without parole by 44% to 37%. Today, 47% of New Jersey citizens prefer life in prison with no chance of parole.

Support for the death penalty declines even further – to less than 30% - when respondents are given the choice between the death penalty and life without parole, plus payment of restitution to the families of murder victims.

Significantly, the survey also revealed that almost all New Jerseyans believe that innocent people are sometimes convicted of murder, and that, when they consider the high cost of prosecuting death penalty cases, 66% of respondents prefer that the money instead be spent on crime prevention or services for victims’ families.