The latest Field Poll has encouraging news for those wanting to see the death penalty in California go the way of the US Navy (at least according to Mitt Romney).
The latest numbers show that support for killing the death penalty is at 45%, while support for the death penalty killing people is at 38%. In a previous poll just a week earlier percentages were nearly tied, 41% - 40%, and in September keeping the death penalty alive was ahead, 42% - 45%. That's a good trend.
But the death penalty is not dead yet. In fact every poll listed on BallotPedia has found repeal losing. For some unknown reason, Field poll results are not listed in that table. If we average all the October polling the result is:
October polling average:
In favor of death penalty repeal: 40%
Opposed to death penalty repeal: 44%
But as the Field Poll shows a strong trend moving towards repeal, it's results are (barely) outside the margin of error, and other polling results seem to back up that trend, I think the prospects are reasonable California could join most of the rest of the civilized world in this regard.
The other piece of good news from the Field Poll is that Proposition 32, an anti-union measure packaged as a 'keep money out of politics' initiative, has had its veil of plausibility stripped. It is now failing by a whopping 34% - 50% margin, whereas back in September its fate was still to be determined with polling showing it being defeated by only a 6% margin with 18% undecided. The average of all October polling including these latest Field Poll results is:
Support Prop 32: 41%
Oppose Prop 32: 48%