How do Jerseyites Feel About All of This? Also, a Yale Study

In light of the recent furor in New Jersey over its probable abolishment of capital punishment, someone (i.e. Quinnipiac University) though it would be a good idea to actually poll the residents of the state on how they feel. The results were relatively unsurprising. 53% percent oppose ending capital punishment and 39% support its demise. These numbers are a little more anti-death penalty than the national average, which, according to Gallup, is typically in the 60s. This is not unusual for a relatively liberal Northeast state like New Jersey, but still shows that the lame-duck status of the current legislative session is relevant in protecting Garden State lawmakers from their constituents, to an extent.

Also in the Tri-State Area, a Yale Law School study has concluded that the death penalty in Connecticut is capriciously applied and racially imbalanced. Some highlights, courtesy of Newsday:

Black defendants receive death sentences at three times the rate of white defendants in cases where the victims were white.

Killers of white victims are treated more severely than people who kill minorities, when it comes time to decide the charges.

Minorities who kill whites receive death sentences at higher rates than minorities who kill minorities.

This may affect the ongoing suit filed years ago by nine Connecticut state death row inmates, all minorities who make claims similar to those in the report.