THE TIMES POLL : Death Penalty Support Still Strong in State

Support for capital punishment remains strong in California following the resumption of executions, but the electorate would much prefer that murderers be put to death by lethal injection rather than cyanide gas, the Los Angeles Times Poll has found.

Voters responding to the poll overwhelmingly approved of last Tuesday’s execution of double murderer Robert Alton Harris, whose death at dawn in San Quentin’s gas chamber after an extraordinary all-night volley of defense attorneys’ appeals ended a 25-year hiatus for capital punishment in California.

The vast majority of people who favored Harris’ execution believe it was justified by simple justice for his slaying of two teen-age San Diego boys while stealing their car for a bank robbery, the poll showed. Relatively few feel it will deter crime.

Nearly two-thirds of the electorate thinks that if executions became commonplace--if several murderers were executed each year--it would be “a good thing for society.”

This was the first statewide poll on capital punishment to be conducted in the aftermath of Harris’ widely publicized execution. And the results offer little encouragement for the relatively small but vocal opposition to the death penalty that had hoped the public would begin recoiling from the state’s taking of lives once the gas chamber was reopened.

To the contrary, the survey showed that support for capital punishment among California’s voters has been virtually unchanged for 11 years, with roughly three-fourths of the electorate favoring it through this period, according to several Times polls. In this latest poll, the death penalty for murderers was supported by 77% and opposed by 18%, with 5% not sure.

But more than six in 10 people thought it was time to junk the 55-year-old gas chamber and turn to lethal injections, the exclusive method of capital punishment for 15 other states and the U.S. military.

The statewide survey of 1,395 voters, supervised by Times Poll Director John Brennan, was conducted for four days ending Sunday night. The margin of error is 3 percentage points in either direction.

Although only registered voters were queried, past statewide surveys by The Times have found that there is very little difference between the views of the electorate and the public at large on the subject of capital punishment.

The strongest support for the death penalty comes from Republicans, self-described conservatives, Central Valley residents, Southern Californians outside of Los Angeles County and blue-collar workers. But there is no large socioeconomic, geographic or ideological group that opposes capital punishment. Even self-described “very liberal” people are divided about evenly on the issue.

Six in 10 voters interviewed said they “strongly” support the death penalty.

Given a choice between the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for murderers, 63% chose death and 30% preferred prison. Among just those who support capital punishment, 13% said they would opt for life imprisonment if there were no chance of eventual parole.

Jeffrey Wiebersch of Victorville, a buyer for an aerospace firm who was interviewed by the Times Poll and later spoke to a reporter, said he favors the death penalty over life imprisonment for two reasons: “If it’s life imprisonment, he’s going to die anyway without seeing the outside world, so why should the taxpayers support him while there are people on the street living out of garbage cans? Secondly, I feel that capital punishment is a deterrent to crime.”

Maggie Hampton, a Santa Ana nurse, said she supports capital punishment rather than life imprisonment: “I really feel people have to pay for their crimes. Did they give the person they killed a choice? I really feel that people should suffer the same punishment.”

But Mike Schruben of Ontario, a child welfare worker for Los Angeles County, said he favors life imprisonment. “It’s possible to convict an innocent person,” he said. “And I don’t think we can have a humane and civilized society if we condone judicial murder. I think there’s an awful lot of damaged individuals, like this Robert Alton Harris, who probably can’t help themselves.”

Harris’ execution, however, was approved by 79% of those surveyed--64% “strongly.” Only 16% disapproved. Indeed, Harris’ death was favored even by 21% of the people who said they oppose capital punishment. Their predominant reasoning was that the death penalty is the law and that justice prevailed.

Justice--”an eye for an eye”--was the main reason Harris’ execution was justified in the minds of about two-thirds of those who supported it. For those who opposed Harris’ death, the major reason was that they considered it to be inhumane.

Lethal injection was the method of death preferred by 63% of the voters interviewed, including those who favor capital punishment. Only 12% favored the gas chamber, now the death vehicle for only two other states--Arizona and Maryland.

Legislation is pending in Sacramento to substitute lethal injection for cyanide gas as California’s method of execution. And Gov. Pete Wilson has said he probably would sign such a bill. Sponsors of the legislation maintain that lethal injection would be more humane than the gas chamber, which Harris’ attorneys in their appeals argued was cruel and unusual punishment.

There are 328 inmates on California’s Death Row, and 64% of the voters said that if “executions became much more commonplace” it “would be a good thing for society.” Only 23% said it would be “a bad thing.”

Yet 66% of those interviewed--including 60% of the voters who support capital punishment--said they believe that Harris’ execution “will discourage” few or no “serious crimes” in California. Only 8% said it will be a deterrent to “many” serious crimes and 22% said it will deter some.

John Breiding of Long Beach, an unemployed engineer, said: “I don’t think the death penalty discourages people from committing crime and I’m inclined to think we don’t have a right to take lives. In different times, I probably wouldn’t be for the death penalty. However, the economic justification has to be considered. I believe capital punishment is probably the more economically feasible choice for our society at this time. It’s less costly for taxpayers. And given that, I would choose lethal injection as being more humane.”

THE TIMES POLL: Death Penalty Support

Support for capital punishment remains strong following the execution of Robert Alton Harris last week, a Times Poll shows. But California voters would prefer that murderers be put to death by lethal injection rather than cyanide gas.

Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for murder?

4/26/92 3/28/90 Favor strongly 60% 59% Favor somewhat 17% 19% Oppose somewhat 7% 8% Oppose strongly 11% 10% Don’t know 5% 4%

Do you support the decision to execute Robert Alton Harris? Support strongly: 64% Support somewhat: 15% Oppose somewhat: 6% Oppose strongly: 10% Don’t know: 5%

If you support the decision to execute Harris, why? (Two responses accepted.) Justice/Eye for an eye: 64% It’s the law: 18% Too expensive to keep in jail: 16% Sets example/Deters crime: 13% Victims’ kin deserve justice: 12% Could get parole or kill again: 6% Other/Don’t know: 8%

What is the method of execution you prefer? Lethal injection: 63% Gas chamber: 12% Electric chair: 4% Firing squad: 3% Hanging: 2% Other/Don’t know: 12% None: 4%

How many crimes will the Harris execution discourage in California in the future? Many crimes: 8% Some: 22% Few: 25% None: 41% Don’t know: 4%

If California had several executions each year, would that be a good thing for society? Very good: 40% Fairly good: 24% Fairly bad: 10% Very bad: 13% Don’t know: 13% SOURCE: Los Angeles Times Poll, taken April 23-26. Poll conducted among 1,395 registered voters statewide. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 1,395 California registered voters by telephone April 23-26. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the state. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that both listed and non-listed numbers could be contacted. Interviewing was conducted in English or Spanish. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and household size. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points; for certain other subgroups, the error margin is somewhat higher. Poll results can also be influenced by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.