DNA backlog, death penalty on agenda
BY TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press
January 1, 2007
MADISON — More dough for DNA. A dead-on-arrival death penalty. And maybe one more shootout over concealed weapons.
The Wisconsin Legislature could find itself juggling several criminal justice issues as its session opens this month. And with the state facing a $1.6 billion deficit, there won't be any easy financial fixes.
"It's going to be a problem to find any money in this budget," Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson said. "It's all about setting priorities."
Robson, Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch and the governor's office said hard planning on criminal justice issues has been supplanted by the transition to a new legislative session and ethics reform. But they outlined the major problems Wisconsin faces in the area and what lawmakers might do.
"We're always looking for new ways to catch the bad guys," said Matt Canter, a spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle.
• DNA testing. State Justice Department projections show Wisconsin's crime labs will finish 2006 with evidence in more than 1,700 cases waiting for DNA testing. Such delays can prolong police investigations and leave criminals roaming the streets.
During the campaign, Doyle pledged $1.22 million in the 2007-09 budget to hire more DNA analysts. However, Canter said the governor will work with incoming Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to decide how best to use funds. Van Hollen has said he wants to add to analyst ranks by moving positions in the Justice Department to the crime labs and outsourcing more tests.
Robson, D-Beloit, and Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the backlog would be a priority. Robson said she backed Doyle's plan to hire more analysts, although she doesn't know where the governor will get $1.22 million. Huebsch echoed her, but he said he would make sure Van Hollen and local police have the resources they need.
"What we're interested in is the goal," Huebsch said.
Canter said the governor doesn't want to speculate on specific parts of his budget before it's released in February.
Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee, said he'll introduce a bill that would require anyone charged with a felony to provide a DNA sample. Current state law requires anyone convicted of a felony to provide a sample for the state's database.
Huebsch said the idea subverts privacy rights. Wasserman said the bill would help identify more suspects, adding if a person is found innocent, his DNA would be expunged from the database.
• Death penalty. Voters approved a Republican-authored advisory referendum to reinstate the ultimate punishment, abolished in Wisconsin in 1853. Its chief proponent, Sen. Alan Lasee, R-DePere, said he'll introduce such legislation this session.
But voters also handed Senate control to Democrats in the same election. That means the Republican measure is unlikely to pass that house.
Still, Lasee said he's obligated to introduce the measure because he fought for it and believes brutal murderers deserve to die.
"It's not going to go anywhere," Lasee said. "So many lily-livered senators out there don't want to deal with it, but they should take a look at what their constituents want."
Robson said the death penalty creates a host of problems, including the chance an innocent person could be executed.
"We're about rehabilitation and justice, not about vengeance," she said.
• Concealed weapons. Republicans have tried to pass a law allowing Wisconsinites to secretly carry guns and knives for two straight sessions, picking up some Democratic support along the way, but each time Doyle vetoed it.
Huebsch said concealed carry might return this session, even with a Democratic Senate. The idea has bipartisan support, he said. He hopes to negotiate a compromise with Democrats.
"It's not something we should just say … throw up our hands and say we'll have to wait for a new governor, wait for a new Senate," Huebsch said.
Robson hinted the bill would never make it out of committee in the Senate. She said Republicans should stop wasting time on wedge issues.
• Methamphetamine. Van Hollen, a Republican, made the spread of methamphetamine a huge issue in his campaign. He promised to create a multijurisdictional task force to offer police more training in identifying meth rings and labs and set up a tipster hot line.
Huebsch said the Legislature's role is to make sure police and Van Hollen have what they need, but didn't mention specifics. But he added local police are in the best position to fight meth.
Lawmakers last session restricted access to pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient. This time, Robson said, look for legislation that would ensure children in homes with a meth lab get good foster care and for a measure that would require a house seller to be aware a meth lab was in the building.
Online: Wisconsin Legislature: www.legis.state.wi.us.
Rep. Sheldon Wasserman wants anyone charged with a felony to be required
to provide a sample of his or her DNA. Current law requires anyone
convicted of a felony to do so.
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