Poll: Most Back Life for Malvo
By Jeralyn, Section Juvenile Offenders
Posted on Sat Dec 20, 2003 at 05:12:32 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Posted on Sat Dec 20, 2003 at 05:12:32 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
An ABC News poll shows that most people support a life over death sentence for John Lee Malvo, who was a juvenile at the time of the sniper attacks.
Given a choice, 52 percent say they'd prefer a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for Malvo, while 37 percent prefer the death penalty. (Support for execution is higher, 56 percent, when no other option is offered).
The results reflect broader concerns about executing juveniles. With no alternative offered, a quarter of Americans support the death penalty for juvenile killers in general, a quarter say it depends on the circumstances and half oppose it. But given an alternative, 62 percent prefer mandatory life; just 21 percent favor capital punishment.
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