Majority of Jordanians support capital punishment — poll

AMMAN — More than two-thirds of Jordanians had said they support capital punishment even before the government's decision to reactivate it this week after an eight-year moratorium, according to the results of an opinion poll released Tuesday.

The survey, carried out between November 23 and December 5 by the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan, showed that 81 per cent of Jordanians support the death penalty and 17 per cent said they oppose it.

The survey polled 1,200 Jordanians over 18 and a smaller group of 700 “opinion leaders” such as political figures, academics and journalists about the government's performance after one-and-a-half years since its formation and other current issues.

However, for the purpose of this question, the polled sample was increased to 2,400 “due to its importance”, the CSS said.

According to the survey, 80 per cent of opinion leaders also said they support capital punishment, while 18 per cent were against it.

For those who oppose the penalty, 28 per cent of the national sample and 18 per cent of the opinion leaders said they are against it because they consider execution “inhumane, while life and death are in the hands of God”.

Meanwhile, 22 per cent of the national sample who opposed it and 21 per cent of the opinion leaders said their rejection of the death penalty is over fears that some of those convicted and executed may in fact be not guilty.

The opinion poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 points also gauged opinions on alternative penalties and the option of replacing execution with life imprisonment. 

Results showed that the vast majority is against this — 74 per cent of the national sample and 79 per cent of the opinion leaders said they are against alternative punishment, including life imprisonment.

Prison authorities on Sunday executed 11 men convicted of murder, a move that signals reinstating the death penalty in Jordan that has been frozen since March 2006.

Local and international watchdogs and European ambassadors have criticised the move, describing a step backwards on Jordan's human rights practices.