Poll: Would Americans Execute Bin Laden?

In this April 1998 file photo, Osama bin Laden is seen in Afghanistan. The bulk of Americans and a slim majority in Mexico want bin Laden executed if caught, but most people in seven other countries would rather he spend life or many years in prison, an AP-Ipsos poll says.(AP Photo) (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON -- The bulk of Americans and a slim majority in Mexico want Osama bin Laden executed if caught, but most people in seven other countries would rather he spend life or many years in prison, an AP-Ipsos poll says.

In all nine nations surveyed, markedly more people would choose the death penalty for the al-Qaida leader than for run-of-the-mill murderers, even in nations with little taste for capital punishment.

Americans also prefer execution over prison for murderers by greater margins than people in the other countries. Of the nine countries polled, only the U.S. and South Korea have the death penalty, although South Korea currently has a de factor moratorium on capital punishment and hasn't executed anyone in nine years.

The poll underscores stark differences between the U.S. and many of its allies over the death penalty at a time when U.S. treatment of terror-war detainees _ some of whom may face execution _ has been a major irritant in their relations.

"It's my way of saying no to something," said Walter Bain, 89, a retired Navy petty officer from Des Moines, Wash., who prefers the death penalty to prison. "I don't like the idea of a person walking down the street and shooting someone in cold blood just for exercise."

Though several top al-Qaida operatives have been captured, bin Laden remains free, with some officials saying he is hiding along the Pakistan-Afghan border. President Bush vowed to capture bin Laden, dead or alive, shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Given a choice of capital punishment for bin Laden or imprisonment, 62 percent in the U.S. supported executing him, while 36 percent chose prison. More than one-third of those preferring life imprisonment for convicted murderers said they would support bin Laden's execution.

"He's acting out of pure hate," said Tieara Causell, 19, a day-care provider in Ypsilanti, Mich., who thinks ordinary murderers should be imprisoned. "What he's doing is horrible, and I think he should die."

Only in Mexico, where people chose the death penalty over prison for bin Laden by 54 percent to 35 percent, did sentiment run close to that in the United States. Opinion ran strongly toward prison in Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain _ in some cases by more than two-to-one margins.

In the U.S., support for executing bin Laden ran 10 percentage points higher than for common murderers. In the other countries, that preference ranged from 6 percentage points higher in Britain to 17 percentage points greater in Canada and France.

Academics say increased support for executing infamous people is common. An AP-Ipsos poll in February 2006 found people in the U.S. supported Saddam Hussein's execution over life in prison by 57 percent to 36 percent, similar to their views on bin Laden's fate. The Iraqi leader was hanged last December.

Women were likelier than men to favor life imprisonment over the death penalty for murderers in all countries surveyed except Canada, Mexico and Germany, where the genders were about even. Support for capital punishment also ran lower for people who are better educated, have higher incomes, are young or _ in the U.S. _ are Democrats.