GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ - The prime suspect in the August 10 shootings of a postal worker and five people at a Los Angeles-area Jewish community center -- Buford Furrow -- could receive the death penalty if convicted. Furrow was indicted by a federal grand jury on murder and firearms charges in the death of Joseph Santos Ileto, a Filipino-born letter carrier -- for which the maximum sentence is death by lethal injection. He will also face state charges of attempted murder for the community center shootings after the federal case is tried.
As far as the public is concerned, Furrow should get the death penalty, although -- despite the "hate crime" nature of his alleged offense -- the number who call for his death is lower than the percentage of the American population that favors the death penalty more generally.
In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted August 16-18, 55% of Americans said Furrow should receive the death penalty if convicted. Another 41% said he should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This can be contrasted with the 71% of Americans who in a February Gallup poll said they in general favor the death penalty in cases of murder, a percentage which has remained above 62% in Gallup polling over the last two decades.
Public Generally Supports Capital Punishment But is More
Lenient in Specific Cases
The fact that those favoring the death penalty for Furrow is lower
than this general number is consistent with the finding over the
years that support for the death penalty consistently drops when a
specific individual is mentioned. Furrow's 55% support is in line
with Gallup polls that also asked about other specific individuals
in recent years. In November of 1997, during the trial of Unabomber
suspect Ted Kaczynski, 51% of the public thought he should be
sentenced to death. He escaped the death penalty by agreeing to a
plea bargain with federal prosecutors that guaranteed him a life
sentence without parole. After the 1997 conviction of Oklahoma City
bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh, 64% of Americans thought he should
be sentenced to death, compared to 34% who favored life in prison
without parole. McVeigh's death sentence is still on appeal.
Should Hate Play a Factor in Sentencing?
FBI sources have told reporters that Furrow's actions on August 10
were motivated by his hatred of Jews and minorities. While
Americans supported the idea of stiffer sentences for hate crimes
in a February Gallup poll (70%), the August 16-18 poll found that
just 34% believe that Furrow should receive greater punishment
because his crimes were motivated by racism and anti-Semitism.
Nearly two out of three Americans (64%) believe he should receive
the same level of punishment as he would receive had the crimes not
been motivated by hatred.
However, nearly four out of ten Americans (39%) are willing to consider legal penalties against the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group to which Furrow belonged. That group's leaders have disavowed any knowledge of Furrow's plans or any connection to his alleged crimes.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,028 adults, ages 18 and older,
conducted August 16-18, 1999. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus
3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.
Which sentence do you think Furrow should get for this crime -- [ROTATE: 1) The death penalty, (or) 2) Life imprisonment, with absolutely no possibility of parole]
BASED ON FORM A: N =520; MARGIN OF SAMPLING ERROR = ± 5 PCT. PTS.
| The death penalty | 55% |
| Life imprisonment, without parole | 41 |
| NEITHER/OTHER (vol.) | 1 |
| No opinion | 3 |
| 100% |
If Buford Furrow is found guilty of murder and attempted murder for this shooting, do you think -- [ROTATE:1) He should receive GREATER punishment than others convicted of the same crimes would receive, because his motive was based on racist and anti-Jewish beliefs (or) 2) He should receive the SAME punishment as anyone convicted of the same crimes would receive, without regard for his motive]?
BASED ON FORM B: N =508 ; MARGIN OF SAMPLING ERROR = ± 5 PCT. PTS.
| Greater punishment | 34% |
| Same punishment | 64 |
| No opinion | 2 |
| 100% |
As you may know, Buford Furrow was a long-time member of the Aryan Nations, a group which is reported to hold racist and anti-Jewish beliefs. If Furrow is found to have acted alone in the recent shooting, do you think the Aryan Nations group [ROTATE: 1) Should face legal penalties for contributing to the beliefs which led to Furrow's actions (or do you think it) 2) Should not face legal penalties since it did not actively participate in or endorse Furrow's actions (or do you think it)
| Should face legal penalties | 39% |
| Should not face legal penalties | 49 |
| DEPENDS ON SPECIFICS (vol.) | 5 |
| No opinion | 7 |
| 100% |
