Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 21, 2006 2:18:15 GMT -5
The death penalty debate is picking up steam, with 2 of the nation's oldest human and civil rights groups, led by Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, in opposition to the statewide November referendum.
NO Death Penalty is a new coalition of anti-capital punishment groups that includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The group recently formed to bring clarity to the "biased wording" in the death penalty referendum that will go before voters in November, said Christopher Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.
The advisory referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot asks voters whether Wisconsin should have the death penalty for first-degree intentional homicide cases if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence.
"We will rebut the provision in the ballot question that talks about the DNA evidence," Ahmuty said. "We have organized to make sure that Wisconsin voters have the information they need to make an informed decision."
McCann, who has been the state's most vocal opponent of capital
punishment, is leading the charge and has begun making public appearances as part of the new anti-death penalty campaign. McCann is not seeking re-election.
"This is a moral issue that philosophy and politics aren't going to touch. If we can succeed in educating the public on the issue, they will oppose it," said McCann, who argues that the death penalty is racially biased, too costly to administer and doesn't give victims' families the closure they seek.
"The finality that families crave they don't get," he said. "It takes
years and years."
(source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
NO Death Penalty is a new coalition of anti-capital punishment groups that includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The group recently formed to bring clarity to the "biased wording" in the death penalty referendum that will go before voters in November, said Christopher Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.
The advisory referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot asks voters whether Wisconsin should have the death penalty for first-degree intentional homicide cases if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence.
"We will rebut the provision in the ballot question that talks about the DNA evidence," Ahmuty said. "We have organized to make sure that Wisconsin voters have the information they need to make an informed decision."
McCann, who has been the state's most vocal opponent of capital
punishment, is leading the charge and has begun making public appearances as part of the new anti-death penalty campaign. McCann is not seeking re-election.
"This is a moral issue that philosophy and politics aren't going to touch. If we can succeed in educating the public on the issue, they will oppose it," said McCann, who argues that the death penalty is racially biased, too costly to administer and doesn't give victims' families the closure they seek.
"The finality that families crave they don't get," he said. "It takes
years and years."
(source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)