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Poll Finds Two-Thirds In California Back Death Penalty

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A new survey shows more than two-thirds of California voters favor keeping the death penalty, a finding that hasn't changed significantly in a decade.

The Field Poll results released Thursday suggest a challenge for opponents of capital punishment, who are trying to gather signatures for a November 2012 ballot initiative. They want to abolish it and convert death sentences to life in prison.

The poll found 68 percent of those surveyed support keeping the death penalty, with 27 percent opposed.

When asked their preferred sentence for someone convicted of first-degree murder, 48 percent said life without parole while 40 percent said the death penalty.

The poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters by telephone from Sept. 1-12. It has an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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