A majority of Wisconsin voters favor reinstating the death penalty, according to results from an advisory referendum on Tuesday's ballot.
Though the referendum was advisory and it did not change Wisconsin's law, a bill to solidify the results into law could soon follow.
The ballot question was designed to gauge public opinion of reinstating the death penalty and revealed 55 percent of voters support the punishment. Forty-five percent of voters opposed the measure.
Specifically, the referendum asked voters if they would support the death penalty for those convicted of first-degree intentional homicide if the conviction was ""supported by DNA evidence.""
The stipulation of DNA evidence was a big factor in the success of the referendum, according to UW-Madison political science professor Donald Downs.
Downs said it is likely that a bill to formally reinstate the death penalty in Wisconsin could come before the Legislature as soon as next session. Any bill drafted now would have to pass through the state Senate and House before landing on the governor's desk.
""All they would have to do is vote on it, but then my guess is that Doyle would veto it. That would complicate things,"" Downs said.
The advisory referendum was placed on the ballot in March when the Legislature passed 2005 Senate Joint Resolution 5. The full question that appeared on the ballot read, ""Should the death penalty be enacted in the State of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?""
Wisconsin abolished the death penalty in 1853 and the last execution performed by the state took place in 1851, when John McCaffary was hanged to death for drowning his wife.
