A new poll finds Colorado voters, by a 2-to-1 ratio, believe convicted killer James Holmes deserves the death penalty.
The Quinnipiac University survey released Monday found 63 percent support Holmes’ execution for killing 12 people and injuring 70 more in his 2012 attack at an Aurora movie theater.
Thirty-two percent believe he should receive life in prison with no chance of parole, and 5 percent were undecided.
The question is the same one a jury is considering in Centennial as prosecutors make the case for death and defense attorneys argue for a life sentence.
The poll, completed as part of an electoral swing-state gauge, questioned 1,231 Colorado voters July 9-20 right as the guilt phase of the Holmes trial came to a close and the jury convicted him on 24 counts of first-degree murder, 134 counts of first-degree attempted murder and seven other charges.
Prior to the guilty verdict, the poll asked “if Holmes is convicted” and after the ruling it prefaced the question by saying he was “convicted of murder.”
The margin of error is 2.8 percentage points.
Two years ago, a Quinnipiac poll found more support for a death sentence, at 67 percent with 26 percent favoring life in prison without parole.
In Colorado, the latest poll shows that two-thirds of voters believe the state should continue to have the death penalty, while about 26 percent support abolishing it. The numbers are essentially unchanged from polls in 2014 and 2013.
“With James Holmes awaiting sentencing for the movie theater massacre, there is barely a thread of sentiment in Colorado for abolishing the death penalty,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the poll.
John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ByJohnFrank
