NEWS
Lasee follows up on death penalty
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Also by Keegan Kyle:
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by Keegan Kyle
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The death penalty will get another chance in the Wisconsin Legislature this year — but once again, lawmakers do not foresee it going anywhere.
After Wisconsin voters passed an advisory referendum last November supporting capital punishment, State Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere, announced Monday he will reintroduce legislation to reinstate the death penalty in the coming weeks.
The referendum — which received slightly more than 55 percent of voter support last fall — proposed allowing the use of capital punishment only for first-degree intentional homicide cases that are "vicious" and supported by DNA evidence.
"Clearly, people want to give judges and jurors this necessary tool when examining what sentence to impose upon a defendant charged with a heinous crime," said Lasee, who proposed the original advisory referendum, in a statement.
Josh Wescott, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said the Legislature has more important matters to consider.
"This isn't a priority. This is what Sen. Robson has talked about since leading the Senate," Wescott said. "We got other things to worry about."
Before the November election, Republicans, who were most supportive of the constitutional amendment, controlled both legislative houses.
However, after the election, Democrats gained control of the Senate and reduced the Republican majority in the Assembly — greatly reducing the likelihood of reinstating the death penalty.
"[The bill] will still go to committee," Wescott said. "All bills go to a committee for consideration."
Even if the bill passes a Senate committee, it probably would not have enough support to pass the Legislature. And if the bill does reach Gov. Jim Doyle, he has vowed to veto any legislation aiming to reinstate the death penalty.
"I have been working to reinstate the death penalty for many years and understand that it will be an uphill climb in the Legislature," Lasee said in the statement. "We owe it to the victim's families of horrific murders to have the death penalty to fully institute justice towards criminals of the worst caliber."
In its history as a state, Wisconsin has only used capital punishment for one man.
John McCaffary of Kenosha was convicted for drowning his wife in 1851. His hanging inspired reform, and in 1853, Gov. Leonard Farwell signed a bill into law abolishing capital punishment.
Today, Wisconsin is one of 13 states without capital punishment, and holds the longest-running prohibition in the country.
Anonymous (March 28, 2007 @ 3:21am):
Not all Wisconsin Voters support the Death Penalty. I vote against Murder in any guise.
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