Californians maintain their solid support for the death penalty as a punishment for serious crimes, but are divided on whether they would impose a death sentence or life without parole for first-degree murder, according to a Field Poll being released today.

The survey of registered voters found 70 percent backing for capital punishment, up from 67 percent in the last statewide poll in 2006. Substantial majorities supported it, regardless of age, gender, race, religion or party. Twenty-four percent opposed the death penalty and 6 percent had no opinion.

But when a smaller number of voters were asked which sentence they preferred for a first-degree murderer, 42 percent said life in prison without parole and 41 percent said death. Another 13 percent said it would depend on the circumstances, and 4 percent had no opinion.

The last time the Field Poll asked that question, in 2000, it found that 44 percent chose the death penalty and 37 percent favored life without parole.

Field has been asking the broader question about capital punishment since 1956. In recent decades, support has ranged from a high of 83 percent in the mid-1980s to a low of 58 percent in 1971.

Partisans on both sides of the debate found the latest figures revealing, for opposite reasons.

"I think they reflect a growing preference for life without parole as an alternative," said Stefanie Faucher, associate director of Death Penalty Focus, an anti-capital punishment group in San Francisco. "It is more cost-effective, is carried out more quickly and doesn't drag victims through years of appeals."

The 70 percent figure represents support for the death penalty "in the abstract," Faucher said, and is less revealing than people's views on which punishment they prefer.

But Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, which supports capital punishment, said the question on death and life without parole was misleading because respondents were asked to choose a uniform punishment for all first-degree murderers.

"The question really is, do you favor the death penalty for the worst murderers?" Scheidegger said. "Very few people want the death penalty for every first-degree murder case."

Overall, he said, the poll shows that "support for the death penalty is pretty stable."

The survey was released while candidates are preparing for a November election in which Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidates for governor and attorney general, oppose the death penalty. Both say they will follow the law if elected.

The poll said 63 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Republicans and 69 percent of third-party members and independents surveyed supported the death penalty. It was also backed by 60 percent of those who said they are likely to vote for Brown, and by 53 percent of Harris' supporters. Margins among supporters of their Republican opponents, Meg Whitman and Steve Cooley, were much wider.

When asked whether they preferred death or life without parole for murderers, however, respondents divided across party lines, with 56 percent of Democrats and 21 percent of Republicans opting for a life sentence.

The survey was conducted by telephone between June 22 and July 5. The question on support for capital punishment was asked of 1,390 voters; 485 of them were asked the question about the death penalty vs. life in prison for murderers.

Field Corp. said the margin of error was 2.8 percentage points on the death penalty question and 4.6 percentage points for the question on preferred sentences.

On executions

70% support the death penalty

24% oppose the death penalty

6% had no opinion

Source: Field Corp.