The Wisconsin state Senate approved a bill 20 to 13 Tuesday that would allow Wisconsin residents to vote in a public referendum on the death penalty.
The referendum is non-binding and if approved by the state Assembly, it will allow Wisconsin voters to decide if enough support exists to pass a proposal reinstating capital punishment 150 years after it was first abolished.
Such a bill would allow the state to seek the death penalty for people convicted of particularly heinous crimes with DNA evidence.
As people take sides on the sensitive issue, the rhetoric continues to flare.
There isn't a safeguard in the world that is going to be 100 percent,\ said state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton. ""Death is as final as it gets. There aren't any do-overs,"" he said.
However, some lawmakers contend that justice can be served through capital punishment.
""In my own personal view, the death penalty is about justice and it is about an end point and the ultimate penalty,"" said state Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh. ""In my view, we are about justice in the state of Wisconsin.""
As Wisconsin's first and last execution took place in 1851—the state abolished capital punishment in 1853—the fate of such an issue remains uncertain.
""I think it's a tough thing to talk about,"" UW-Madison senior Trevor Leverson said. ""While I think there are some people that are probably a danger to society in and outside of prison, I don't think the death penalty makes sense as a punishment.""
Moral and ethical dilemmas aside, the economics behind capital punishment may also be a point of major contention.
The amount of money taxpayers spend on states with the death penalty cannot be pinned down entirely, but according to the Center for Death Penalty Information, costs can be substantially higher in death penalty cases than others. The CDPI said cases in which capital punishment is an option for the prosecution require more attorneys for both sides, more experts to be brought in and in all likelihood, more trials.
Reinstating capital punishment in Wisconsin will require leaders in Madison to address multiple issues. Since the referendum is not yet set, the debate continues within communities, cites and in the state Capitol.
""There is a big blur when you begin to look at different circumstances,"" said state Sen. Robert Jauch, D-Poplar. ""I just don't know how you draw the line.""
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