Assembly Candidates Debate Death Penalty Referendum

The UW-Barron County chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa fraternity held a forum on Wednesday regarding the upcoming referendum. Invited were Democratic state Rep. Mary Hubler of Rice Lake and her opponent, Dari McDonald of Birchwood. Each were given 18 minutes to speak with faculty and students about their views on the death penalty and referendum.

McDonald, who took approximately five minutes to explain her position on the referendum and death penalty, said the referendum was narrow and only applied to 1st degree murder convictions that had corroborating DNA evidence. She expressed her support for the death penalty for certain crimes: "For repeat sex offenders, especially against juveniles, for terrorists, and for crimes against policemen, law enforcement, or armed forces personnel serving here or abroad."

She concluded that advocating for the death penalty as a criminal justice tool gave consideration to the victims, those who have lost their lives as well as possible future victims.

By contrast, Rep. Mary Hubler listed five reasons to oppose the death penalty: the practice of taking a person's life, regardless of the way in which it is done, is morally wrong; it costs too much; DNA evidence is not infallible; the death penalty discriminates; and it does not function as a deterrent to crime.

"It fulfills the need for vengeance," she stated, "But we're a civilized society, and we can look at other options."

Other than moral opposition to the death penalty, she argued cost is the biggest reason to oppose the reinstatement of the practice in Wisconsin.

"States that have the death penalty spend more time and more money to get prepared for administering the punishment-- whether they are ever going to use it or not," said Hubler. "It costs a lot of money for capital trials. There are appeals in both the state and federal courts. You have to build death penalty facilities, and you have to train people to run the equipment. All of this costs money."

New York and New Jersey, Hubler noted, have spent over $350 million to prepare for administering the death penalty in those states, and they have yet to execute a single person.

The issues of discrimination in assigning the death penalty cannot be ignored either, argued Hubler. Most people on death row are people of color or are poor. People of color, especially African Americans, are more likely to get the death penalty for similar crimes to those committed by whites, stated Hubler.

She expressed concern that innocent people could be executed, and finally argued that the death penalty doesn't make communities safer: "We have a lower crime rate than most states that have the death penalty. You want to be safe? Lock them up and throw away the key. We have a death sentence in Wisconsin-- it's called life in prison with no chance of parole."

posted by Sachin @ 1:13 PM