Dems accuse GOP of kowtowing to party leadership
Although Wisconsin abolished capital punishment 150 years ago, the state Assembly is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would give Wisconsin citizens a chance to vote on re-enacting the death penalty.
This referendum is non-binding, meaning it serves as a way to gauge public support and does not require the state to carry out the decision.
Earlier this month, the state Senate approved the resolution, also known as Senate Joint Resolution 5, in a 20-to-13 vote. It will be sent to the state Assembly for consideration; however, with limited days of legislative floor debate left, some state representatives are worried there will not be adequate time to debate the issue.
State Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, said legislative session days are numbered, making it difficult for the Assembly to discuss new bills with sufficient consideration.
She projects this issue will garner contentious debate.
This is going to really have everybody going wild in the Capitol,\ Berceau said.
State Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, concurred with Berceau and said time constraints will make the state Assembly's decision difficult.
State Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, called for the resolution, saying he believes the death penalty is ""a just punishment"" and would cut down on repeat offenders.
""In the long run it will be less costly for all of us,"" Lasee said. ""I think some people just aren't fixable.""
Lasee said his decision to call for a vote on SJR5 was spurred by the murder of Teresa Halbach last October. Berceau countered this and said she hopes people will look at the ""larger issue of whether or not the state should be able to kill people,"" and not just the brutality of one murder. Additionally, she said Republicans may just be using the death-penalty resolution for political reasons.
""If the majority of Republicans support it, the reason will be that somebody in leadership has convinced them that it's a good campaign issue,"" Berceau said.
Pam Oliver, a UW-Madison sociology professor, said re-enacting the death penalty would ensure discrimination against impoverished people and minorities. She said wealthier people are more likely to escape punishment for committing crimes.
Berceau added that the death penalty is another example of politicians generating political issues instead of focusing on what their constituents actually want.
""We rarely deal with what the people in Wisconsin want,"" Berceau said. ""People in Wisconsin didn't contact us and say, ‘Oh please, please, please do a constitutional amendment against gay marriage.'""\
