Bringing back the death penalty in WI

There are some legislators trying to bring it back. This fall, you'll get to vote on it (incidentally, the vote will take place during the Steven Avery murder trial).

However, your vote won't actually be instrumental in bringing it back. It will simply tell the legislature what your opinion is on the issue.

I have mixed feelings on this issue. On the one hand, I can't imagine Timothy McVeigh still being alive today. I'd hate to see the D.C. snipers walk with a life sentence. Cold-blooded murder deserves the death penalty.

Then there's the part of me that wonders if we've ever misapplied the death penalty. I have seen cases - a very select few cases - where the defendant plead not guilty, was convicted, and was sentenced to death, and from what I saw, I didn't think the evidence was 100%. I wasn't sitting on the jury, so I'm not going to make a big deal out of those cases and go so far as to say those people were innocent. But I'm uneasy about passing a law that allows us to end someone's life, even if we don't necessarily have all of the evidence.

I don't think eyewitness accounts alone should be enough to sentence someone to die. Too many of them are fabricated and memories fade. I don't think DNA evidence alone should be enough to sentence someone to die. DNA evidence can be planted. For the ultimate penalty, the ultimate evidence must be available.

But how do you pass a law that says, "The death penalty can only be used if X amount of evidence is available." I don't think it's feasible.

That's what makes me lean towards being against the death penalty. But, my vote is still technically "undecided." I've long been an advocate for the death penalty, and to actually say, "I'm against the death penalty" is something that would take more consideration.

For now, I'll lean.