Conflicting Polls on Whether NC Should Impose Death Penalty Moratorium

Friday, September 10, 2004 at 01:24AM
TheSpook

• Blacks make Up 106 of 177 inmates on Death Row in NC

Polls consistently show that most North Carolinians support the death penalty, but when it comes to putting those executions on hold, it is not so clear-cut. When supporters of a two-year moratorium gathered in the spring, they released a statewide poll that showed 63 percent of North Carolinians favor at least a temporary halt to the death penalty while 28 percent opposed the moratorium. Now, a Voter's Voice Poll, indicates almost the opposite. Only 36 percent favor the moratorium versus 54 percent opposed. The Voter's Voice Poll draws sharp distinctions based on race. Thirty-percent of white voters in the poll favor the death penalty moratorium compared with 71 percent of black voters. [more ]Race of murder victim has consistently been shown to be a factor in capital sentencing in the USA:

•  At least one in five of the 300 African Americans executed in the USA since 1977 were tried in front of
  all-white juries.
  
• Nationally, eighty per cent of the more than 880 people put  to death since 1977 were convicted of crimes involving whites,
  even though whites and blacks are the victims of murder in almost equal numbers.  [more ]

Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).