A new Quinnipiac poll revealed that huge majorities of Connecticut voters support moves to reduce penalties for non-violent drug offenses as well as allowing terminally ill people the option of hastening their deaths with the aid of a physician.
Executive Director of the ACLU of Connecticut, Stephen Glassman, said, “This poll shows we are on the right side of history. Our overreliance on incarceration is unproductive, ineffective in addition to being disproportionately directed at minority communities. It is incumbent upon lawmakers to find alternatives to prison and jail for drug users and other non-violent offenders, which invest taxpayer dollars more intelligently.”
The poll found that voters widely support, by 67 to 28 percent, reducing currently draconian penalties for small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use from a felony to a misdemeanor. By even greater margins, 82-to-15 percent, voters support eliminating harmful mandatory minimum sentences for small amounts of illegal drugs. Voters believe judges, should be able to evaluate cases on their merits.
In addition, the poll found that voters support, by a margin of 63 to 31 percent, allowing doctors to help terminally ill patients end their own lives. The poll reports that “All party, age and gender groups support the idea, including voters over 55 years old, who support it 59 - 34 percent.”
Glassman added, “We respect individual choices and everyone’s right to make them. This includes decisions about how people choose to live as well as their right to make informed decisions about their end of their life care.”
March 11, 2014
Related content
