penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. 27 However during his trial this dropped to 19 percent, with some attributing this to the intervention of the victims’ families who stated they did not wish to see Tsarnaev executed. 28 Other issues, including the belief that execution would make him a martyr; the opinion that a life sentence would be a worse punishment; and also that details about the influence of the Tsarnaev’s brother, may have influenced people to feel less supportive of the death penalty in this case. 29 Despite this, it is important to note that of the people polled by the Boston Globe approximately 30 percent of people stated they generally supported the death penalty for heinous crimes, clearly demonstrating the highly conditional support that capital punishment receives. It also shows how easily and quickly support rates can fluctuate and how unique factors in any situation may impact upon this. 30 Contemporary polls suggest that Americans may be turning away from this justice-driven view of the death penalty, with the Death Penalty Information Centre indicating that, when given the option, the majority of Americans favour life imprisonment (without parole) over the death penalty. 31 Similarly, in their poll, Radelet and Borg discovered that 27 Evan Allen, ‘Few Favor Death for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Poll Finds’, Boston Globe, 26 April 2015 <http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/26/globe-poll-shows- diminishing-support-for-death-penalty-for- tsarnaev/S3GMhFlGj5VUkZrmLzh1iN/story.html?event=event25> [accessed 24 April 2016].
28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid.
31 Death Penalty Information Center, ‘AMERICAN VALUES SURVEY: Majority of Americans Prefer Life without Parole over Death Penalty’ , 2016 <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/6309> [accessed 24 April 2016].
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