CBS News Call-Back Poll, June 2001

This poll, fielded June 9, 2001, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. This survey was a call-back of the May 10-12, 2001, cohort (CBS NEWS MONTHLY POLL, MAY 2001 [ICPSR 3350]), and was conducted to assess respondent views regarding the upcoming June 11, 2001, execution of Timothy McVeigh, who was sentenced to death for bombing the Oklahoma City federal building. Respondents were queried on how closely they had been following the upcoming execution and whether they favored the death penalty for McVeigh. A second set of questions asked respondents whether they agreed with the Justice Department's decision to delay the execution until June 11 so McVeigh's lawyers had time to review newly discovered FBI documents, whether these new documents would shed any new light on the case, and how often they felt legal documents in court cases were not turned over to defense lawyers, as the law requires. Respondents were also asked whether the criminal justice system had worked the way it should for a death penalty case and whether any questions about who committed the bombing would remain after McVeigh's execution. A final set of questions asked respondents whether it was a good idea for the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing and their families to be able to watch McVeigh's execution, whether everyone should be allowed to watch the execution, and whether the media had spent too much time on the upcoming execution. Opinions were also solicited on the FBI, the criminal justice system, and George W. Bush's handling of his job as president. Background information on respondents includes age, sex, race, education, religion, voter registration and participation history, political party, political orientation, Hispanic descent, marital status, age of children in household, economic investments in the stock market, and family income.