Why Bostonians don't favor the death penalty for Tsarnaev

“Massachusetts as a commonwealth has a basic commitment to civic virtues, to decency. These are deep, deep, deep in our soil,” says the Rev. Nancy Taylor, senior minister at Boston’s historic Old South Church, which stands next to the marathon’s finish line. “The death penalty kind of defiles the best of what it is to be virtuous in a civic sense. It kind of starts to wreck the equation.”…

Boston is one of the most liberal cities in the United States, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by more than 3 to 1. Traditionally, liberal Democrats have been much more likely to oppose the death penalty than their more conservative Republican counterparts.

In addition, nearly half of state residents identify as Roman Catholic, making Massachusetts the most Catholic state in the nation. Although Bay Staters do not attend church at the level seen in other parts of the country, religion plays a key role in how individuals shape their values.