Forty-two percent of registered voters would rather see survivors of a botched execution serve life in prison than attempt a second execution, according to a new poll.
The updated count for those who believe death row inmates should serve life in prison after the procedure goes awry beat out the one-third of respondents who supported a second execution attempt at an execution for convicted criminals.
Conversations about the aftermath of botched executions have bubbled up following the incident in which Tennessee prisoner Christa Pike survived multiple lethal injection attempts last month. During the attempted execution, Pike expressed extreme pain in her arms and then fell into a dayslong coma. She was discharged from the hospital Oct. 10 and now must relearn how to walk.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted two weeks after the botched execution in Tennessee, showed that only 33% of people were in favor of a second execution attempt for criminals who experience a botched attempt.
Fifty-five percent of total respondents approve of the death penalty as recorded this month, up from the 52% recorded in Gallup’s Values and Beliefs poll in June. At the same time, the number of people who described themselves as “morally opposed” to the death penalty dropped from 39% to 34% in the June poll.
The execution method with the highest favorability was lethal injection, with 45% of respondents marking that as their preferred procedure. Lethal injections historically have the highest rate of aborted executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) announced that the Tennessee prison system chief would resign after the botched execution of Pike. Lee also paused all executions until the new year.
The new poll also comes after War Secretary Pete Hegseth walked back his decision to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, scheduled for Dec. 3. Hasan is to be executed via firing squad.
WHERE FALSE POLLING FROM WEDGEWOOD MIGHT HAVE MISLED CAMPAIGNS
The former U.S. Army major was sentenced to death for killing 13 people in a Nov. 5, 2009, shooting. Trump voiced his opposition to the livestreamed execution just days after Hegseth first announced it.
Seventy-four percent of the Reuters/Ipsos poll’s respondents said it is not appropriate for federal or state executions to be publicized on television or online.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
