Majority
approves of Forcillo guilty verdict
One half disapproves of not guilty verdict on murder two
TORONTO January
25th - In
a random sampling of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 549 Toronto
adults, the majority (54%) approve of the verdict of guilty of attempted
murder handed down by the jury in the James Forcillo trial, while one
third disapprove of this verdict (34%). One sixth have no opinion (15%).
Approval of the verdict is most common to the oldest (60%), the wealthiest
(60$), John Tory voters from the last election (59%) and in North York (60%).
One half disapproves of not guilty verdict
One
half of Toronto adults disapprove of Constable Forcillo being found not guilty
of second degree murder (51%), while one third approve of this verdict (34%).
Disapproval of the not guilty verdict is especially characteristic of the
youngest (59%), those in mid income groups ($20K to $40K - 62%, $40K to $60K -
56%, $60K to $80K - 60%, $80K to $100K - 61%), Olivia Chow voters (69%), in the
downtown (57%) and East York (61% - caution: small base size).
One half disapproves of Forcillo suspension without pay
One
half of Torontonians disapprove of Constable Forcillo being suspended with pay after
a guilty verdict (53%), whereas just more than one third approve of this
arrangement (35%). One tenth don’t have an opinion (11%). The profile of those
who disapprove is similar to the profile of those who disapprove of the not
guilty verdict in the second degree murder charge; young, mid-income, Chow
voters in the downtown.
“It is clear that public sentiment was in favour of a guilty
verdict, and, in fact, some of those who do not approve of the guilty verdict
may be those who wished for a more severe verdict by the jury. While more than
a half of the city’s residents agree he should have been found guilty of
something, more than half think it should have been the more serious charge,” said Forum
Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum
Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416)
960-9603.
