For Immediate Release
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New Poll Finds Majority Of Kentuckians Prefer Life
Without Parole over Death Penalty; Nearly Three-
Quarters Support Halting Executions
Two-Thirds of Kentucky Voters Support Replacing Capital
Punishment with Life Imprisonment
XXXX, Kentucky-- A poll by the University of Kentucky released today shows
that 58% of Kentuckians now prefer some version of life in prison over the death
penalty as a punishment for first-degree murder, and nearly three-quarters of
respondents (72%) favor halting executions until problems with the death penalty
can be solved. It is notable that there was strong support for halting executions
even among those respondents who said they preferred the death penalty (xx%).
Additionally, the poll found a significant support (64%) for replacing the death
penalty with a sentence of life in prison without parole. A majority of support was
found across political party, with XX% of Democrats, XX% of Independents, and
xx% of Republicans in support of replacing the death penalty. The survey also
found that 61% of respondents were worried about the risk of executing an
innocent person, and 68% of respondents preferred life in prison over the death
penalty because of the high cost of capital punishment.
View the full results here:
“This poll shows that Kentuckians have grown weary of this wasteful government
program that prolongs victim’s suffering, provides no measurable deterrent effect,
and is far more costly than life without parole without providing any additional
public safety benefit.” said XXXX, the XXXXXXxX. “Kentuckians are justifiably
worried about the risk of executing an innocent person.”
These findings come just months after the Kentucky House Committee on Public
Safety held a public hearing on a bipartisan bill that would have replaced the
death penalty with a sentence of life in prison without parole. This was the first
legislative hearing on the issue in xx years. The bill was supported by XX and
XXX.
The poll was conducted by the University of Kentucky on XXXXXX, 2016 and has
a margin of error of +/-XX%. The survey included XXX Kentucky voters/residents.
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