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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2007 
AP Poll: Most Mexicans Favor Death Penalty
 Associated Press
Mexico City - The majority of Mexicans are to some degree in favor of the death penalty for those found guilty of murder and believe its implementation would reduce the number of killings, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
The survey, conducted in nine countries, found that 71 percent of respondents in Mexico supported capital punishment, with 34 percent saying they were strongly in favor and 37 percent saying they were somewhat in favor.
The results were surprising, given the Mexican government's strong stance against the death penalty and the country's majority Roman Catholic population.
The answer changed, however, when the question had a different focus.
Asked what punishment they would prefer for people convicted of murder, 46 percent of respondents said the death penalty, while 43 percent said life in prison without chance of parole. Seven percent favored a long prison sentence without chance of parole and 4 percent were not sure.
The survey also found that 60 percent of respondents believe that the number of murders would decrease if the death penalty were implemented, while 25 percent thought it would stay the same and 7 percent thought it would increase.
Asked about which punishment al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden should receive if he is captured, tried and convicted of being a terrorist, 54 percent said he should get the death penalty, 31 percent said he should get life without parole and 4 percent said he should get a long sentence without chance of parole. Eleven percent were not sure.
The survey was conducted between Feb. 23 and Feb. 25 on 1,200 people. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The Mexican government formally abolished the last vestiges of the death penalty in 2005, although the country had not executed anyone since 1961. Mexico's ruling National Action Party is strictly against the death penalty, and Mexican courts refuse to extradite suspects to any country if there is a chance they could face a death sentence.
Yet increasing drug and other violence, including a wave of kidnappings in recent years, have changed the opinions of many Mexicans who want to see the government take a harder stance against criminals. President Felipe Calderon took office in December promising to launch a major offensive against drug cartels who had seized entire regions of the country.
The same death penalty survey was conducted in the United States, Canada, South Korea, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.
In all nine nations surveyed, markedly more people would choose the death penalty for the al-Qaida leader than for run-of-the-mill murderers, even in nations with little taste for capital punishment.
Americans also prefer execution over prison for murderers by greater margins than people in the other countries. Of the nine countries polled, only the U.S. and South Korea have the death penalty. |
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