NCJ Number
89132
Date Published
1983
Length
21 pages
Annotation
The report presents results from a poll of 1,352 Texas residents on questions relating to driving while intoxicated (DWI), laws regarding juveniles, court-related issues, the insanity defense, local option laws concerning material harmful to minors, appropriate punishments for child sexual abuse, and general issues.
Abstract
Texans do not want a person convicted of a first DWI offense to be sentenced to jail, but 90 percent of the respondents said that those convicted of a second DWI offense should automatically have their drivers' licenses suspended. A majority of respondents agreed that it should be possible to try 13- and 14-year-old juveniles as adults for murder, and some other violent crimes. Three-quarters of the respondents favor a law in Texas which would allow evidence to be used in a criminal trial, even if such evidence was obtained unlawfully, if the police officer had acted in good faith. Only 16 percent said that a person accused of murder should be able to enter a plea of 'not guilty by reason of insanity.' A total of 87 percent of the respondents said that the death penalty should be available for murder. A total of 52 tables are included. (Author summary modified)