Opponents of the death penalty have been crowing in recent years about a supposed turn away from it, citing repeals in a few states, including New Jersey.  But those repeals represent failures of representative democracy, as legislatures act contrary to the views of the majority of the people.  They have gotten away with it because crime has not been high on the political radar screen while wars, terrorism, financial crises, and the revamp of the health care system dominated the political scene.

Yet, nine years after repeal, "if Garden State voters have their say, the death penalty will be here to stay," according this press release from the PublicMind Poll at Fairleigh Dickinson University.  "The most recent survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind finds support for the death penalty virtually unchanged from when the same question was asked in 2006."

The release contains this odd statement:  "There is considerably less support among Democrats, people of color, women, and Millennials -- all of whom oppose the death penalty in numbers almost reaching or exceeding a majority."  The "less support" is correct, but the "all of whom oppose" is odd.  A majority of women and a plurality of persons 18-34 are in favor.  A majority of black people are opposed, but no number is given for "people of color," which is not the same thing, especially on this issue.