March 9 WISCONSIN: Death-penalty vote would be knee-jerk reaction The likelihood that you will be able to let the state Legislature know how you feel about the death penalty, or lack thereof, in Wisconsin this fall is a day or two from becoming a certainty. An advisory referendum on the subject will probably go to voters in September. As much as the topic is worthy of discussion and referenda have their merit, the timing couldn't be worse. Steven Avery's trial probably will be starting right around then, and the public will be reintroduced to the horrific details of his case all over again after months of trying to forget about Calumet County Dist. Atty. Ken Kratz's graphic press conference last week. Voters once again will be angered, shocked and saddened as the murder trial plays out. Those are not the emotional states in which any decision should be made, let alone one as monumental as whether the death penalty should be reinstated. Longtime capital punishment advocates such as state Sen. Alan Lasee see the Avery case as their new Exhibit A in the debate over whether some people should be killed for their crimes. They want to strike while the iron is hot and force Wisconsin voters to the booths while Avery's alleged mutilation and murder of a young woman is fresh in their minds. While that's a smart move for their cause, it's a poor one for the state as a whole. Emotional thinking makes for bad decision-making. Knee-jerk reactions to public incidents have made for some bad law in the past - some provisions of the Patriot Act are the most recent example. Making rash decisions in one's personal life is a no-no; the public sector is no different, and the death penalty is arguably the most serious issue in any state. In a society in which human life is the ultimate value, the discussion of why, how and when to take it is a debate of the highest order. That doesn't mean it isn't a debate worth having, or that the public's opinion isn't one of the most important components of that debate. But just as taking one's temperature when feverish is not indicative of his or her overall health, asking a citizenry how it feels about punishing criminals while it watches a trial for a vicious murder is unfair and exploitative. The death penalty in Wisconsin is a subject worth talking about. Just not now. (source: Editorial, Appleton Post-Crescent) ************** Senate OKs death penalty advisory vote Efforts to restore the death penalty in Wisconsin advanced further Tuesday than at any time in the last seven decades, as the Republican-controlled state Senate voted to put an advisory referendum on the ballot in September. "This is a big deal," Senate President Alan Lasee, R-DePere, for more than 30 years one of the Legislature's staunchest death penalty advocates, said after the 20-13 vote. "We've never gotten this far on this issue." The joint resolution, SJR-5, still must pass the GOP-led Assembly before going to voters. Unlike bills, joint resolutions don't require the governor's signature, which means Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, a death penalty opponent, can't block the effort. Nor would passage of the nonbinding referendum necessarily bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 1853. The referendum asks whether the punishment may be considered in "vicious" murder cases in which there is DNA evidence to support a conviction. The evidence provision was intended to assuage death penalty opponents who fear innocent people could be executed. But opponents - all Democrats - weren't moved. Several noted that Illinois suspended its death penalty 5 years ago after a Chicago Tribune investigation found 1/3 of the capital convictions from 1977 to 1999 had been reversed due to "fundamental error." Thirteen were ultimately released from death row. "There is absolutely no foolproof, positive, 100 percent guarantee in the world that we will ever have a system that will never execute an innocent person," said Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D- Middleton. "One out of a billion and the system is flawed." Democrats also objected to placing the measure on the Sept. 12 primary ballot, when large numbers of Republican voters are expected to turn out for the GOP gubernatorial and attorney general primaries. Supporters hope a strong showing would spur lawmakers to adopt the death penalty in the next legislative session. Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, accused Republicans of moving on the resolution, first introduced more than a year ago, in response to the high- profile arrest of Steven Avery and a nephew in the rape, murder and mutilation of photographer Teresa Halbach. Plale said he would "probably relish" an opportunity to get the two suspects in a room alone with a lead pipe. "But that's the dark side of my nature, that's the dark side of all human nature," Plale said. "We have a calling to rise above that intense need for revenge." Lasee said the resolution had nothing to do with Avery, who wouldn't qualify for the new punishment if he were convicted. But he recounted stories of other horrific murders, mostly of children, since he joined the Legislature in 1975. "All this time, I wondered what is the proper punishment for such despicable crimes," he said. "Putting somebody in jail, giving them three square meals a day just doesn't cut it with me." Lasee stressed that the resolution doesn't restore the penalty but seeks to gauge the public's view of it. The Legislature would have much more work to do if it chose to actually write the punishment into law as 38 other states have done, he said. The governor also would have a say in any death penalty legislation. All of the Senate's 19 Republicans and Democratic Sen. Roger Breske of Eland voted for the measure. The resolution also drew unanimous statements of support from the two Republican candidates for governor, U.S. Rep. Mark Green of Green Bay and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker; and the GOP candidates for attorney general, Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher and former U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen. Since a bill to restore the death penalty was introduced in 1937 following the kidnapping and killing of Charles Lindbergh's baby in 1937, lawmakers have sought to put the punishment back into law or have voters weigh in with referendums at least 59 times, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. Tuesday's vote was only the third time such a measure has made it to the floor of one house or the other for a vote and the first time either house has approved one. The resolutionHere is the wording of the proposed resolution on the death penalty adopted by the state Senate Tuesday. If the Assembly concurs, the following question will appear on the ballot for the Sept. 12 primary: "Should the death penalty be enacted in the State of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted of 1st-degree intentional homicide, if the homicide is vicious and the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?" (source: Wisconsin State Journal) ILLINOIS: State may push for death penalty A Wauconda man accused of beating his 20-month-old stepgrandson to death in January pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court to first-degree murder. Assistant State's Atty. George Strickland said his office may seek the death penalty against Ernest Willingham, 33, because of the victim's age and because his death may be considered "brutal and heinous." Willingham, of the 1200 block of Water Stone Circle, was arrested last month after Deandre Jones died of blunt force trauma in Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, authorities said. The toddler had a lacerated spleen, liver and kidneys; a bruised heart and lung; and broken ribs, according to authorities. Associate Circuit Judge George Bridges set a May 2 deadline for the state's attorney's office to announce its decision on the death penalty. Willingham is being held in Lake County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail. He was convicted in 2004 of aggravated domestic battery in Elmhurst for an incident that involved the toddler's mother, Raven Williams, 16, authorities said. She is the daughter of Willingham's wife, Kimberly. Williams lived with Ernest and Kimberly Willingham at the time of her son's death, authorities said. It was not clear whether Willingham was allowed to have contact with his stepdaughter after his release. A spokesman for DuPage County State's Atty. Joseph Birkett, whose office prosecuted Willingham in 2004, did not return calls Wednesday. Willingham and his wife were the only adults present Jan. 31 when Deandre was taken by ambulance to the hospital after Kimberly Willingham called 911 when the toddler stopped breathing, authorities said. Willingham's two children, ages 3 and 5, also were present and have been placed with relatives by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, according to authorities. Diane Jackson, a DCFS spokeswoman, said eight children who were living in the Willingham house have been placed in protective custody. The agency has opened an investigation of Willingham and his wife, Jackson said, but she was not able to provide details on any past contact the agency might have had with the family. The Lake County state's attorney's office does not often seek the death penalty. It is pursuing the death penalty against Jerry Hobbs, who is accused of stabbing to death his 8-year-old daughter and her friend, a 9-year-old girl, last May in Zion. That case was the 1st time since 1996 that the state's attorney sought the death penalty. (source: Chicago Tribune) OHIO: Death sentence upheld In Columbus, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the death sentence Wednesday for a man who shot a bystander after his brother was stabbed in a fight outside a strip club. In a 6-1 ruling, the court rejected arguments by James Conway that he didn't receive adequate legal help and there wasn't enough evidence for an aggravated murder conviction in the 2002 shooting. Conway was convicted of inadvertently shooting Jason Gervais as Conway tried to shoot Mandel Williams, a man Conway believed had stabbed his brother. Conway also argued that his rights were violated because prosecutors used evidence from a jailhouse informant. The justices agreed, saying the prosecutors were barred from using evidence after the informant officially began to work for them. But the error was harmless because most of Conway's statements to the informant came before that, they ruled. In addition, the evidence was already strong against Conway, they said. Conway also faces a death sentence in an unrelated 2001 case in which a man was kidnapped and killed with a pickax. The court heard Conway's appeal in January in that case and has not ruled. (source: Associated Press) ************ Execution date set Convicted Lucas County killer Joseph Clark is scheduled to die for his crimes in May. The Ohio Supreme Court has set May 2 as the date for Clark's execution by lethal injection. Clark killed two gas station employees in 2 days back in January of 1984. Police say Clark killed an employee at the Lawson's at Hill and Wenz and then a day later gunned down David Manning during a hold-up at the Clark station on Airport near Byrne Road. Clark admitted to shooting Manning after he was arrested for robbing a bank. 13abc spoke with the victim's brother, who says he feels the execution date is a step closer to justice being served. If Clark's execution does take place May 2, he will become the 1st person from Lucas County put to death since Ohio reinstated the death penalty in 1981. (source: ABC Local News)
