Poll: Citizens Approve of Romney Death Penalty By Wide Margin
By Craig Sandler for the State House News Service
      Gov. Romney has been depicted lately as of touch with his constituents on moral issues, but the latest State House News Poll indicates they're with him on his new capital punishment proposal.
       By a margin of 65 to 33 percent, respondents said they support the
governor's plan, unveiled last month, which would raise the standard of
proof in capital cases to "no doubt" from "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Defendants convicted of such crimes as terrorism, torture and killing
police officers would be liable to lose their lives under Romney's plan.
Massachusetts has not executed a prisoner since 1947.
       The poll of 400 Massachusetts residents was conducted May 4 thorough May 6; it has a 4.8 percent margin of error.
       "It was interesting that the voters are apparently moved by the "no doubt" standard, as opposed to "beyond a reasonable doubt," said State House News Pollster Gerry Chervinsky, a 20-year veteran of public opinion tracking in the Bay State. "The fact of the matter is, prior polling has shown a majority of Massachusetts residents in favor of the death penalty all along - but not 65 percent."
       Romney has irked some observers here by joking, as he tests the presidential waters nationwide, about how liberal his state is. And polls show him out of alignment with Massachusetts voters on issues such as therapeutic cloning and civil unions.
       But the governor apparently has found an issue the public can back him on, in what he bills as a foolproof system for restoring capital punishment.
       And it's not just Republicans - a majority of both independents and
Democrats said they support the governor on the death penalty.
Still, he's no Hillary Clinton. In a hypothetical match up between the
governor and New York's junior senator, who's said to be keenly interested in the presidency, Romney loses to Clinton, 54 to 38 percent, with 4.6 percent undecided. Not only was there no gender gap, men actually broke more heavily for Clinton than women. But Romney did much better among the older respondents to the survey.