Americans support the decision to prosecute Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a criminal court, and also want him to face the death penalty if convicted.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be prosecuted by federal authorities despite calls from some prominent politicians such as Sen. Lindsey Graham to treat him as an enemy combatant and put him in military detention.
The latest YouGov survey shows that 62% of Americans think the tragedy should be treated like other crimes such as mass shootings, while only 27% say it should be treated differently.
There are stark differences along party lines however, with Democrats being overwhelmingly in favor of prosecution (76%) while Republicans are largely split over whether to prosecute (49%) or treat as a special case (41%).
Significantly, most feel that if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is found guilty he should face the death penalty, with 68% supporting his potential execution and 22% opposing it.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with the federal crime of using a weapon of mass destruction, opening up the possibility of him facing the death penalty. If he had faced a Massachusetts murder charge the maximum he could have faced is life in prison.
