Wrongful Convictions (October 2011)

Wrongful Convictions (October 2011)

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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?"

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categorycolumn-1
Never3%
Almost never30%
Occasionally41%
Fairly often15%
Don't know11%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Never0%3%6%
Almost never12%18%47%
Occasionally52%39%33%
Fairly often28%15%5%
Don't know7%25%9%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
Never4%7%7%
Almost never54%35%48%
Occasionally31%44%31%
Fairly often3%4%6%
Don't know8%10%9%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
Almost never16%24%6%
Occasionally51%49%53%
Fairly often30%16%34%
Don't know3%11%8%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
Never0%0%6%
Almost never11%19%45%
Occasionally58%42%33%
Fairly often26%20%8%
Don't know5%19%9%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Never2%9%6%
Almost never36%51%45%
Occasionally41%28%31%
Fairly often10%4%12%
Don't know11%8%6%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
Almost never10%15%5%
Occasionally69%55%44%
Fairly often16%27%42%
Don't know5%3%8%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
Never0%6%3%
Almost never12%46%27%
Occasionally50%34%52%
Fairly often32%5%16%
Don't know6%9%2%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Race is calculated according to the RACE variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
Never4%0%4%
Almost never35%6%26%
Occasionally40%41%42%
Fairly often11%42%14%
Don't know10%10%14%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
Never5%1%
Almost never37%24%
Occasionally36%45%
Fairly often14%15%
Don't know7%13%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Location is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
Never2%5%2%
Almost never26%30%37%
Occasionally40%42%41%
Fairly often21%13%10%
Don't know11%10%11%
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    Respondents were asked, "How often do you think people are wrongly convicted of death penalty offenses in the state of Texas?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Never11%4%1%2%4%6%
Almost never21%28%34%24%36%33%
Occasionally39%42%42%38%42%37%
Fairly often21%14%13%21%13%22%
Don't know8%13%10%15%5%2%

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