SF Chronicle – Death-penalty measure’s support jumps

A ballot measure to repeal California’s death penalty and replace it with life in prison without parole has gained support in the last week and leads by 45 to 38 percent among likely voters in the final Field Poll before Tuesday’s election.

The poll, conducted Oct. 25-30, was the first to show a lead for Proposition 34, which had trailed 42 to 45 percent in the last survey in mid-September. Polling also found that a majority agreed with one of Prop. 34’s major premises – that the death penalty is more expensive than life without parole – and a plurality said innocent people are executed “too often.”