2004 Texas Crime Poll

Special Legislative Report II: Citizens’ Attitudes about the Death Penalty and Related Issues

Dennis R. Longmire, Ph.D.

Professor and Director

Survey Research Program

Robert G. Morris, M.A.

Doctoral Fellow

Criminal Justice Center

Survey Research Program

Sam Houston State University

Huntsville, Texas 77341

(936) 294-1651

e-mail: Longmire@shsu.edu

www.cjcenter.org/polls.html

Recommended citation:

Longmire, Dennis R. & Robert G. Morris (2004). Citizens’ Attitudes about the Death Penalty and Related Issues: 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Report II. Huntsville, Texas: College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University . http://www.cjcenter.org/cjcenter/research/srp/cparchive/2004/2004SLRdp.html

Introduction

This Special Legislative Report was prepared as a resource document intended to assist legislative policy makers during the 79^th Texas State Legislative Session. It is one of three special reports that examine citizens’ attitudes about questions based on several bills that were left pending after the close of the 78^th Texas State Legislative Session. Each of the three special reports include a more detailed breakdown of attitudes about specific legislative initiatives that were raised during the 78^th Texas State Legislative Session showing how citizens in general feel about the proposed legislation as well as how different sub-groups of the population feel (responses broken down by race/ethnic group and respondents’ community size). These special reports complement the General Report that provides information about the simple frequency distribution of responses to items focusing on these issues. Furthermore, items focusing on citizens’ confidence in different components of the criminal justice system and victimization experiences included in the survey instrument to allow a comparison of how Texans’ attitudes about these issues has changed over time.

Links to all reports are located at the Survey Research Program’s general home-page (www.cjcenter.org/polls.html) and include:

· 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Survey: General Report (http://www.cjcenter.org/cjcenter/research/srp/cparchive/2004/2004SLSreport.pdf)

· 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Report I: Citizens’ Attitudes About the Regulation and Certification of Forensic Crime Labs (http://www.cjcenter.org/cjcenter/research/srp/cparchive/2004/2004SLRfs.pdf);

· 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Report II: Citizens’ Attitudes About the Death Penalty and Related Issues

(http://www.cjcenter.org/cjcenter/research/srp/cparchive/2004/2004SLRdp.pdf); and

· 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Report III: Citizens’ Attitudes About Issues Related to Law Enforcement, Sentencing/Supervision of Offenders, and Victims of Crime

(http://www.cjcenter.org/cjcenter/research/srp/cparchive/2004/2004SLRgen.pdf)

A general discussion of the survey’s methodology and a description of the respondents to the special legislative survey are followed by frequency distributions and sub-group frequencies of responses to questions included in the survey focusing on:

· Whether or not prosecutors should be required to pursue capital punishment in cases involving the murder of a peace officer;

· Whether or not the death penalty should be available for persons under the age of 18;

· Issues associated with the determination of mental retardation in capital cases;

· Modification of “capital life” to mean life without the possibility of parole;

· Requiring face-to-face meetings of the Parole Board when considering petitions concerning commutations and pardons filed by capital murderers given the death penalty; and

· Establishing a Special Commission to study the state’s use of the death penalty in areas including the:

o Quality of legal representation for indigent defendants charged with capital crimes;

o Certainty of guilt in capital cases including the use and availability of new technologies to reduce errors and the possible execution of innocent people;

o Possible effect of race as a factor influencing capital sentencing;

o Sufficiency of legal representation in the appellate review of capital convictions; and

o Concern about any “other issues” concerning the death penalty.

This survey represents the 36th statewide public opinion survey completed under the auspices of Sam Houston State University’s Criminal Justice Center. The Criminal Justice Center was established by the Texas Legislature in 1963 when it passed House Resolution 469. This resolution called for Sam Houston State University to work in collaboration with the Texas Department of Corrections to establish a program of excellence with four objectives:

1) establish degree programs for individuals seeking careers in criminal

justice;

2) provide continuing education programs for professionals already

employed in the field of criminal justice;

3) conduct research on the problems of crime and the administration of

justice; and

4) provide technical assistance to criminal justice agencies.

The 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Survey and all activities conducted under the auspices of the Criminal Justice Center’s Survey Research Program help to fulfill the third of these objectives by reporting information on public opinions regarding criminal justice and related issues. The first Texas Crime Poll was completed in 1977, and surveys have been repeated annually since that date with multiple surveys completed in several of these years. Copies of the Final Reports for each of these surveys are available for review at the Center’s web-site located at http://www.cjcenter.org/cjcenter/research/srp/txpi.php. The general purpose of these surveys is to provide legislators, public officials, and Texas residents with a reliable source of information about citizens’ opinions and attitudes concerning crime and criminal justice related topics.

Ad hoc arrangements can be made for further analysis, interpretation of findings, and/or testimony before relevant legislative committees as a “Resource Witness.” Please contact Dr. Dennis R. Longmire at the Survey Research Program for further assistance.

SECTION 1: The 2004 Special Legislative Survey and Characteristics of the Sample

The 2004 Texas Crime Poll Special Legislative Survey involved a statewide postal survey designed and completed by the Criminal Justice Center’s Survey Research Program at Sam Houston State University. In October of 2004, surveys were sent via mail to 2,463 households and 562 were returned completed. The overall response rate was 22.9%.

Unlike previous Texas Crime Poll surveys, of which returns have generally been underrepresented by ethnic minorities, the 2004 survey attempted to increase the representation of ethnic minorities by escalating the number of surveys sent to ethnic minority Texans. To do this, the survey mailing list was divided into three equally sized groups. The first group included a general sample of Texas residents that consisted of every ethnic background. Eighty percent of the second group consisted of African American Texans and 80% of the third group consisted of Hispanic Texans. The remaining 20% of both of groups two and three included a general sample of Texas residents.

The data presented in Table 1 show the age, ethnicity/race, and gender of the participants in the 2004 survey. The size of this year’s sample size allows general frequencies reported to fall within a margin of error of (+/-) 3.6%. Caution should be exercised when interpreting the results of this survey because the sample under represents those in lower socio-economic brackets and women. The sample also over represents older Texans and those with higher levels of education.

Table 1: Age, Race, and Gender of Respondents (2000)

% of Total (N = 551)

Age 18 - 29 30 - 44 45 - 61 Over 61 Refused	4% (22) 21% (117) 40% (222) 32% (174) 3% (16)
Ethnicity White Black/or African American Hispanic Other Refused/Don’t Know	57% (309) 12% (67) 25% (135) 6% (30) 2% (10)
Gender Male Female Refused	59% (324) 40% (218) 1% (9)

Table 2: Education Level, Time Spent on a Computer, Source for News, and Political Party of Respondents (2004)

% of Total (N = 551)

Education Level Less than High School High School Graduate Some College, business or trade school work College Graduate Graduate Work Refused/Don’t Know	11% (59) 20% (109) 35% (193) 20% (110) 12% (69) 2% (11)
Time Spent on a Computer/Online None Low Moderate Frequent Refused/Don’t Know	17% (97) 18% (99) 23% (125) 38% (208) 4%(22)
Source for News about Crime Television Newspapers Co-workers Friends Neighbors Other Refused/Don’t Know	64% (355) 26% (143) 1% (6) 0.5% (3) 0.5% (3) 6% (33) 2% (8)
Political Party Representation Republican Democrat Independent Other Refused/Don’t Know	38% (209) 39% (215) 10% (55) 3% (17) 10% (55)

Table 3: Community Size, Religious Preference, and Annual Household Income of Respondents (2004)

% of Total (N = 551)

Size of Respondent Community Rural Small Town Small City Suburb Urban Refused/Don’t Know	12% (65) 15% (83) 23% (129) 24% (134) 21% (114) 5% (26)
Religious Preference Protestant Catholic Jewish Other Refused/ Don’t Know	49% (267) 29% (159) 1% (9) 17% (92) 4% (24)
Annual Household Income Less than $15,000 Between $15,001 and $30,000 Between $30,001 and $60,000 Over $60,000 Refused/ Don’t Know	14% (76) 20% (109) 27% (147) 29% (162) 10% (57)

The following tables and figures show the simple frequency distributions of responses to the questions included in the survey.

Death Penalty Requirement for Murders Involving Police Officers as Victims

Survey Item: Under current law, prosecuting attorneys may or may not seek the death

penalty in cases involving murders where the victim is a police officer. How strongly would you favor or oppose a law requiring that prosecutors seek the death penalty in all murders involving police officers as victims? (Armbrister, SB320, Left Pending)

Race

Community Size

Death Penalty for Juveniles

Survey Item: Should people who are under the age of 18 when they commit a capital

crime be eligible for the death penalty? (Burnam, HB127, Left Pending)

Race

Community Size

Minimum Age for Death Penalty Eligibility

Survey Item: If answered yes to above, what age should be the minimum for death

sentence eligibility?

Age:	Frequency	%
10 or younger	12	6%
11	0	0%
12	17	8%
13	16	8%
14	31	15%
15	34	17%
16	72	35%
17	25	12%
Over 17	9	4%
Total	216	100%

NOTE: 235 respondents noted that they would support the Death Penalty for those convicted of a capital offense if it took place when they were under the age of 18. However, 19 of those who answered “yes” did not enter a specific age. Thus, there is a discrepancy in the total values for Minimum age for Death Penalty and for those who feel that those under 18 should be eligible for capital punishment.

Death Penalty for Convicted Mentally Retarded Capital Offenders

(All items developed from HB664, authored by Gallego, Referred)

Determination of Mental Retardation in Capital Cases

Survey Item: First, when and by whom do you think the question of mental retardation

should be determined in capital cases?

Response	Frequency	%
I agree with the governor and think our current system protects the truly mentally retarded from being executed.	159	29%
I think we should have a judge or panel of experts determine mental retardation in a hearing before a capital trial begins.	304	57%
I think we should have a jury determine mental retardation in a hearing before a capital trial begins.	76	14%

Race

Community Size

Determination of Mental Retardation in Capital Cases (continued)

Survey Item: Next, what criteria do you think should be considered when determining if

an offender charged with capital murder is mentally retarded?

Race

Community Size

The Prison Sentence of “Capital Life”

Survey Item: Under current law, an offender sentenced to prison for a term of “capital

life” becomes eligible for parole after being incarcerated for 40 years. How strongly would you favor or oppose a change in the law that would prohibit these offenders from ever being considered for parole? (Dutton, HB366, Left Pending)

Race

Community Size

Requirement for Board of Pardons and Paroles to Meet as

a Body for Death Penalty Petitions

Survey Item: Under current law, offenders sentenced to be executed may petition the

Board of Pardons and Paroles for clemency requesting that their death sentence be modified to “capital life” requiring that they serve a minimum of 40 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. When the Board considers this request, they do not meet in person but correspond with one another concerning the request through FAX and telephone communications. How strongly would you favor or oppose a change in law that would require the Board to meet as a body to perform these deliberations? (Ellis, SB219, Left Pending)

Race

Community Size

Creation of a Special Commission to Study Issues Related to Capital Punishment

Next, respondents were asked how strongly they would support or oppose a law that would create a special commission to study the use of capital punishment in the state concentrating on each of the following issues. (All issues were developed from the language of SB444 introduced by Senator Shapleigh, which was Left Pending at the close of the 78^th Legislative Session):

Issue 1: The quality of legal Representation for indigent offenders charged with capital murder.

Race

Community Size

Issue 2: The certainty of the guilt of individuals convicted in capital cases and the ability of new technologies such as DNA testing to increase that certainty.

Race

Community Size

Issue 3: Race as a factor in decision-making in capital cases.

Race

Community Size

Issue 4: The sufficiency of appellate review of convictions in capital cases.

Race

Community Size

Issue 5: Capital punishment issues other than those mentioned above.

Race