Life without parole
Would you be in favor of a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (which is pending) condemning the practice of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole?
| 19% (13) | Absolutely | |
|---|---|---|
| 64% (43) | Absolutely not | |
| 16% (11) | Not sure |
67 voters have answered this question.
Would you be in favor of a US Supreme Court ruling outlawing the internationally condemned practice of sentencing juveniles to life without parole?
| 57% (37) | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| 42% (27) | No |
64 voters have answered this question.
If you answerd yes to the first question, what should the maximum sentence for first degree murder be?
| 48% (13) | Life with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years (like in Canada) | |
|---|---|---|
| 11% (3) | Twenty-one years (like in Norway) | |
| 18% (5) | Thirty years (like in Spain) | |
| 22% (6) | Forty years (like in Mexico) |
27 voters have answered this question.
If no, what is the principle reason you wish to preserve life imprisonment?
| 19% (8) | Life without parole is a necessary deterrent to crime. | |
|---|---|---|
| 59% (25) | Life without parole removes even the slightest possibility that the prisoner will murder again. | |
| 21% (9) | Life without parole is necessary for the purposes of retributive justice. |
42 voters have answered this question.
If you are opposed to the life penalty, why?
| 39% (9) | As with the death penalty, there is a risk that innocent people will be wrongfully sentenced. | |
|---|---|---|
| 39% (9) | Life without parole denies the humanity of the perpetrator and ignores his ability to rehabilitate himself. | |
| 21% (5) | It's a waste of money to keep men behind bars for crimes they are unlikely to recommit once they reach old age. |
23 voters have answered this question.
Are you male or female?
| 76% (50) | Male | |
|---|---|---|
| 23% (15) | Female |
65 voters have answered this question.
Are you American, Canadian or European?
| 72% (48) | American | |
|---|---|---|
| 4% (3) | Canadian | |
| 15% (10) | European | |
| 7% (5) | None of the above |
66 voters have answered this question.
If you are opposed to the death penalty, but unopposed to life without parole, why?
| 58% (10) | It is substantially more humane to take away a man's life than to take away his liberty. | |
|---|---|---|
| 41% (7) | The life penalty is a much greater deterrent than the death penalty. |
17 voters have answered this question.
If you are opposed to America's death penalty on the grounds that innocent persons may be executed, do you accept that innocent persons in the US are far more likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment given that life penalty cases receive much less government scrutiny than death penalty cases?
| 41% (17) | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| 21% (9) | No | |
| 36% (15) | Not sure |
41 voters have answered this question.
Would you willing to accept the practice of life without parole if you believed that innocent persons were being condemned to that sentence?
| 38% (23) | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| 38% (23) | No | |
| 22% (13) | Not sure |
59 voters have answered this question.
