Majority in Boston favor life in prison for Tsarnaev

BOSTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A wide majority of residents said they prefer life without parole to the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, a poll indicates.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said they think suspected bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should spend the rest of his life in prison; 33 percent said he should be put to death, The Boston Globe said. The poll was taken by the New Hampshire Survey Center.

Many said they favor life without parole because the death sentence serves no purpose.

"I'm a strong opponent of the death penalty because I feel it serves no purpose. It's not a deterrent," said Lawrence Watson, a Dorchester resident.

The survey polled 704 Boston-area residents from Sept. 5 to Thursday. It has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.