NCJ Number
147993
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 74 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 32-50
Date Published
1994
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article suggests that polls of public opinion on the death penalty are misinterpreting information by effectively dissuading a no opinion response through the use of a standard no filter question format.
Abstract
For all their faults, public opinion polls are of great importance to public policymaking, especially on issues that are highly visible and controversial. During the past two decades, polls in the United States have shown considerable growth in the support of capital punishment. A number of studies have questioned the validity of opinion polls as measures of attitudes on this issue - with apparent support for capital punishment dropping precipitously when alternative options, such as life imprisonment with absolutely no possibility of parole, are provided. The present research suggests that reliance on standard questions that simply seek a favor/oppose response can overestimate support for and opposition to the death penalty. More important, the number of people with no clear opinion on this issue can almost double, simply by employing a different question format. Tables, figures, notes, references, cases cited