53% Believe Boston Bombing Suspect May Receive Death Penalty
Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded “not guilty” last week to 30 charges stemming from the April 15 terrorist attack and subsequent manhunt that left four people dead and more than 260 injured. Most Americans continue to favor the death penalty for Tsarnaev if he is convicted, but slightly fewer adults believe this punishment is likely.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 59% of American Adults believe the Boston Marathon bombing suspect should receive the death penalty if he is convicted. Twenty-two percent (22%) do not think Tsarnaev should get the death penalty, while nearly as many (19%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on July 11-12, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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