Home |  site-map |  indonesia |  indonesian-single-source-articles |  asteroid-user-registration |

Roy Morgan OZ Panel Login  |  Mail Diary Panel Login |   careers |  contact-us |

Now 52% of Australians (up 5% since his execution) agree Van Nguyen’s death penalty should have been carried out, 44% (down 2%), believe he shouldn’t have been executed and 4% (down 3%) are undecided a special telephone Morgan Poll conducted on December 7/8 finds.

A majority of Australians (54%) also believe that the Bali Nine if found guilty and sentenced to death, should have the penalty carried out, 43% believe they shouldn’t and 3% are undecided.

Even more Australians (77%) believe Amrozi, convicted for his role in the 2002 Bali Bombings, should be executed, 20% say it shouldn’t be carried out and 3% are undecided.

Seventy-seven percent of Australians believe Saddam Hussein should be executed if he is found guilty of human rights abuses and sentenced to death by an Iraqi Court, 19% believe it shouldn’t be carried out and 4% are undecided.

Gary Morgan says:

“ Despite the majority of Australians being opposed to the death penalty for those convicted of murder, a majority (52%, up 5%) now agree that the death sentence should have been imposed on convicted drug smuggler Van Nguyen. Many reasoned that ‘the law is the law’ while others had less sympathy for drug traffickers because their actions can ultimately kill young Australians. A similar proportion (54%) think that if the “ Bali Nine” are convicted and the death sentence imposed, it should be carried out.

“ Australians are even less forgiving when it comes to Bali bomber Amrozi and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein - 77% think the death penalty should be carried out on Amrozi, and on Saddam Hussein if he is found guilty of human rights abuses. ”

Sixty-one percent of Australians (up 4%) believe that if an Australian is convicted of trafficking drugs and sentenced to death in a country where the death penalty applies, the sentence should be carried out, while 35% believe it should not be carried out and 4% are undecided.

Only 25% (down 2% since late November) of Australians believe the penalty for murder should be death - this is the lowest result since the Morgan Poll began polling this issue in 1975. Sixty-nine percent of Australians said imprisonment and 6% couldn’t say.

When the penalty for murder is imprisonment, 42% of Australians (down 7% since late November) said imprisonment should be for life, 56% said the Judge should fix the number of years, and 2% were undecided.

When respondents were asked whether Van Nguyen’s death penalty should have been carried out, many who believed it should have, commented that Singaporean law should be upheld: “It’s up to independent states or countries to make their own laws”, Singapore has imposed the death penalty to ensure that drug smuggling is kept to a minimum. If exceptions were made then it would diminish the rule”, “Because it is the Singaporean law and we have to respect that. He knew the consequences of drug trafficking — there’s no reason for him to escape the punishment”, “Singapore has a low crime rate, so maybe the death penalty is working for them” and “ When you go to Singapore dealing with drugs is death”.

Other respondents who believe Van Nguyen’s death penalty should have been carried out, commented on the effect of drugs in our community, saying: “Think how many lives he would have ruined if he’d come back”, “Because drugs come into this country and kill our kids”, “The impact of drugs on young people is very serious and we should not show any tolerance towards it”, “It’s a shocking offence drug trafficking, because of the immeasurable damage it does to the young” and “Because the drugs he was carrying had the potential to destroy many more lives than his alone”.

Respondents who believe Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should not have been carried out, argued that the sentence was not in proportion to the crime, with comments such as: “I think the death penalty was too harsh in this case”, “He was only trafficking drug. Maybe if he killed someone, but he should not have been executed for what he did” and “ Because its was his first offence, he was only a mule, he should have gone to jail for life not hanged ”.

Others respondents how disagreed with the hanging of Van Nguyen believed that hanging as a form of execution was not appropriate, commenting: “ Death by hanging is pretty cruel ”, “ It’s 2005 and I don’t think he should have been hanged —that’s an old punishment, it’s barbaric ”, “ I consider hanging someone archaic, could have used new technology to kill him quicker” and “I just think the death penalty he received too medieval times ”.

Other respondents who didn’t believe Van Nguyen should have been hanged argued: “ His intentions were not to sell the drugs. The crime wasn’t committed in Singapore , he was just trying to pass through and not trying to harm any Singaporeans. He should be put on trial in Australia ”, “ I think the death penalty should be used with more precaution otherwise abuse of power will be a disaster ” and “ Someone can rehabilitate, pick their life up —they should be given that opportunity —once you kill them that’s gone ”.

This special telephone Morgan Poll was conducted on the evenings of December 7/8, 2005, with an Australia-wide cross section of 658 respondents aged 14 and over.

For further information:

Gary Morgan :   Office (03) 9224 5213   Mobile 0411 129 094   Home (03) 9419 3242

Michele Levine :   Office (03) 9224 5215   Mobile 0411 129 093   Home (03) 9817 3066

Death Penalty Or Imprisonment For Murder

Respondents were first asked: “Next about the penalty for murder . In your opinion, should the penalty for murder be death or imprisonment ?”

	All Australians*
	Dec ‘47	Feb ‘53	Apr ‘62	Nov ‘75	Oct ‘80	Jan ‘86	Jul ‘86	Jul ‘87	Feb ‘89	Feb ‘90	Jun ‘90	May ‘92	May ‘93	Aug ‘95	Nov ‘05	Dec ‘05
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty	67	68	53	40	43	43	44	49	52	53	51	46	54	53	27	25
Imprisonment	24	24	37	43	40	41	40	37	34	35	35	39	36	36	66	69
Can’t say	9	8	10	17	17	16	16	14	14	12	14	15	10	11	7	6
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

* Samples for 1947, 1953 and 1962 were electors aged 21 and over, from 1975 onwards the sample was all Australians aged 14 and over.

Life Imprisonment or Judge To Fix Term

Respondents were then asked: “Where the penalty for murder is imprisonment — should it be for life — or should the judge fix the number of years, depending on the evidence?”

	All Australians 14+
	Nov ‘75	Oct ‘80	Jan ‘86	Jul ‘86	Jul ‘87	Feb ‘89	Jun ‘90	May ‘92	May ‘93	Aug ‘95	Nov ‘05	Nov ‘05
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Life	37	43	51	54	53	52	59	54	58	60	49	42
Judge to fix number of years	55	49	42	46	43	43	37	43	39	37	48	56
Can’t say	8	8	7	-	4	5	4	3	3	3	3	2
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Death Penalty For Drug Trafficking?

Respondents were then asked: “In Malaysia , Sri Lanka , Indonesia , Singapore and some other countries, the penalty for drug trafficking is death . If an Australian is convicted of trafficking drugs in another country and sentenced to death, in your opinion, should the penalty be carried out or not ?”*

	All Australians 14+
	Jan ‘86	Jul ‘86	Jul ‘87	Feb ‘89	Jun ‘90	May ‘92	May ‘93	Aug ‘95	Nov ‘05	Dec ‘05
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	73	80	80	79	75	76	70	66	57	61
Death Penalty should not be carried out	21	16	17	17	21	19	26	29	36	35
Can’t say	6	4	3	4	4	5	4	5	7	4
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

* This question initially referred to Malaysia only. Sri Lanka was added in 1989 and Indonesia and Singapore were added in 2005.

Death Penalty For Van Nguyen

Respondents were then asked: “As you may know, convicted drug smuggler, Van Nguyen , was hanged in Singapore last Friday. Do you think the death penalty should have been carried out or not ?”

	All Australians 14+	All Australians 14+
	November 30, 2005*	December 7/8, 2005
	%	%
Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should be/should have been carried out	47	52
Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should not be/should not have been carried out	46	44
Can’t say	7	4
Total	100	100

* On November 30 respondents were asked “ As you may know, convicted drug smuggler, Van Nguyen , is to be hanged in Singapore on Friday. Do you think the death penalty should be carried out or not ?”

Those living in country areas are more likely to believe that Van Nguyen’s death penalty should have been carried out than those living in metropolitan areas. West Australians, South Australians and Northern Territorians are most likely to want to say Van Nguyen’s sentence should have been carried out. Those from NSW are the most likely to say Van Nguyen’s death penalty should not have been carried out.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	December 7/8, 2005	Metro	Country	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should have been carried out	52	50	56	47	49	58	60	63	60
Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should not have been carried out	44	46	40	51	47	40	31	30	40
Can’t say	4	4	4	2	4	2	9	7	-
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

L-NP and Family First voters are most likely to believe Van Nguyen’s sentence should have been carried out. Greens and Democrat voters are most likely to say that Van Nguyen’s death penalty should not have been carried out.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Voting Intention
				Aust	The	Family	Ind /	No
	December 7/8, 2005	L-NP	ALP	Dem.#	Greens	First#	Other#	Answer*
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should have been carried out	52	69	45	48	32	36	66	46
Van Nguyen’s Death Penalty should not have been carried out	44	28	50	34	68	57	30	51
Can’t say	4	3	5	8	-	6	4	3
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

*Includes all respondents who were undecided on voting intention, plus those ineligible to vote and those aged 14-17

Death Penalty For Bali Nine

Respondents were then asked: “As you may know, nine Australians, known in the media as the Bali Nine , are currently on trial in Bali on drug trafficking charges. If they are found guilty and sentenced to death, in your opinion, should the penalty be carried out or not ?”

	All Australians 14+
	December 7/8, 2005
	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	54
Death Penalty should not be carried out	43
Can’t say	3
Total	100

Those living in country areas are more likely to believe that if found guilty and sentenced to death, the Bali Nine should be executed than those living in metropolitan areas. West Australians and Queenslanders are most likely to want to say that if found guilty and sentenced to death, the Bali Nine should be executed. Victorians are the most likely to say that if found guilty and sentenced to death, the Bali Nine should not be executed.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	December 7/8, 2005	Metro	Country	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	54	50	59	48	52	58	55	67	56
Death Penalty should not be carried out	43	47	38	50	44	40	38	28	41
Can’t say	3	3	3	2	4	2	7	5	3
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

L-NP voters are most likely to believe that if found guilty and sentenced to death, the Bali Nine should be executed. Greens and Democrat voters are most likely to say that if found guilty and sentenced to death, the Bali Nine should not be executed .

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Voting Intention
				Aust	The	Family	Ind /	No
	December 7/8, 2005	L-NP	ALP	Dem.#	Greens	First#	Other#	Answer*
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	54	69	48	39	33	36	74	46
Death Penalty should not be carried out	43	26	49	53	67	57	26	52
Can’t say	3	5	3	8	-	7	-	2
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

*Includes all respondents who were undecided on voting intention, plus those ineligible to vote and those aged 14-17

Death Penalty For Indonesian Terrorist, Amrozi

Respondents were then asked: “As you may know, Indonesian terrorist, Amrozi , has been sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali Bombings , in your opinion, should the penalty be carried out or not ?”

	All Australians 14+
	December 7/8, 2005
	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	77
Death Penalty should not be carried out	20
Can’t say	3
Total	100

Those living in country areas are more likely to support the death penalty for Amrozi than those living in metropolitan areas. Queenslanders and Western Australians are most likely to support Amrozi’s death penalty, while those from NSW and Victoria are more likely to say that it shouldn’t be carried out.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	December 7/8, 2005	Metro	Country	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	77	74	82	75	75	82	72	84	83
Death Penalty should not be carried out	20	22	17	25	21	17	20	7	17
Can’t say	3	4	1	-	4	1	8	9	-
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

L-NP and ALP voters are most likely to believe Amrozi should face his death penalty. Greens and Democrat voters are more likely to say that he should not face his death penalty.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Voting Intention
				Aust	The	Family	Ind /	No
	December 7/8, 2005	L-NP	ALP	Dem.#	Greens	First#	Other#	Answer*
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	77	86	74	66	48	70	92	81
Death Penalty should not be carried out	20	12	24	26	46	15	8	16
Can’t say	3	2	2	8	6	15	-	3
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

*Includes all respondents who were undecided on voting intention, plus those ineligible to vote and those aged 14-17

Death Penalty For Saddam Hussein

Respondents were then asked: “If Saddam Hussein , the former leader of Iraq , is found guilty of human rights abuses and sentenced to death by an Iraqi Court , should the penalty be carried out or not ?”

	All Australians 14+
	December 7/8, 2005
	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	77
Death Penalty should not be carried out	19
Can’t say	4
Total	100

Those living in country areas are more likely to support the death penalty for Saddam Hussein, if found guilty, than those living in metropolitan areas. Queenslanders and Western Australians are most likely to believe that Saddam Hussein, if found guilty, should have the death penalty carried out, while those from NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory are more likely to say that it shouldn’t be carried out.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Region and State
	December 7/8, 2005	Metro	Country	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA/NT	WA	Tas
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	77	73	82	75	75	79	73	84	86
Death Penalty should not be carried out	19	22	14	22	21	16	22	8	10
Can’t say	4	5	4	3	4	5	5	8	4
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

L-NP and Family First voters are more likely to believe that if he is found guilty Saddam Hussein, should have the death penalty carried out. Greens and Democrat voters are more likely to believe he shouldn’t face the death penalty if found guilty.

	All Australians 14+	Analysis by Voting Intention
				Aust	The	Family	Ind /	No
	December 7/8, 2005	L-NP	ALP	Dem.#	Greens	First#	Other#	Answer*
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Death Penalty should be carried out	77	86	71	65	50	78	88	82
Death Penalty should not be carried out	19	11	26	35	44	-	12	9
Can’t say	4	3	3	-	6	22	-	9
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

*Includes all respondents who were undecided on voting intention, plus those ineligible to vote and those aged 14-17

© 2012 Roy Morgan Research. All Rights Reserved
privacy-statement