From the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty:
As many of you may know, we are fighting a serious death penalty reinstatement effort in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin General Assembly has approved legislation that would put a nonbinding referendum on the November election ballot. The referendum would ask voters, “Should the death penalty be enacted in the state of Wisconsin for cases involving a person who is convicted of first-degree intentional homicides, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?”
The Wisconsin Senate will return next week and could take up the legislation as early as Tuesday. (The Senate approved an earlier version on a vote of 20 to 13; they have to vote again because the measure was amended in the Assembly.)
We are facing a serious, uphill battle and have launched an all-hands-on-deck campaign to try to defeat this measure when it comes up next week. Although the proposed referendum is nonbinding, it nonetheless could move Wisconsin one step closer to reinstatement, under the guise of giving legislators cover to vote for the death penalty when they return in 2007.
We have developed a detailed plan to organize against the measure by engaging in an intensive lobbying campaign targeted at eight key senators. (If anyone would like to see a copy of the plan, please email David Elliot off list at delliot@ncadp.org)
Today we are asking ad hoc members to consider helping us in the following ways:
Please consider distributing our action alert (appended at the bottom of this message) to any networks, members or supporters you have in Wisconsin.
If you have members you can phone bank in Wisconsin, please consider phone banking them to urge them to phone or email key senators (a list of key senators may be found by clicking through the action alert below.) Alternatively, if you have members and phone numbers in Wisconsin, but do not have time or resources to phone bank them, we will see to it that the phone banking is done if you will share your list with us.
Wisconsin has been free of the death penalty for 153 years. But now the issue is one step away from appearing on the November ballot! If you live in Wisconsin, we need you to call key state senators to oppose reinstatement. If you know someone who lives in Wisconsin and who opposes the death penalty, please forward this action alert to them.
Time is of the essence!
The Facts:
The Wisconsin Assembly has approved legislation placing a referendum on the death penalty on the November election ballot. Although this referendum would be nonbinding, it would move Wisconsin one step toward reinstating the death penalty – at a time when other states are moving away from capital punishment.
The Wisconsin Senate could take up this legislation the week of Monday, May 15. We need you to contact key state senators now!
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION!!!!!!!!!!
From The Program to Abolish the Death Penalty Amnesty International USA
We need your help to contact state legislators to keep the death penalty out of Wisconsin. Members of the State Senate and Assembly are trying to put a death penalty 'advisory' referendum on the Ballot in November. Please call your Senators to keep this violation of human rights that is fraught with error and racial, economic and geographic bias out of our state!
Current Situation:
The Wisconsin State Senate on March 7 passed SJR5 (Advisory Referendum on the Death Penalty) by a vote of 20-13. This legislation provides for an "advisory" referendum on the death penalty.
On May 4, the Wisconsin Assembly in a 47-45 vote passed SJR 5 in an amended form. Due to the Assembly's amendments, the legislation must now go back before the Senate for their reconsideration. It is expected the Senate will take this legislation up on May 16.
If this legislation is approved, it could be the first step toward Wisconsin reinstating the death penalty.
TALKING POINTS
* As your constituent, I urge you to oppose SJR 5, legislation that would put a death penalty referendum on the ballot.
* Wisconsin has not had the death penalty in more than 150 years; it certainly does not need it now.
* Current Wisconsin law allows society to be protected from dangerous criminals by providing a maximum of life in prison without parole for the most serious homicides.
* In study after study the death penalty has been shown to be fraught with geographical and racial disparities. It is immoral and expensive.
* Nationally 123 persons in 25 states have been released from death row due to evidence of wrongful conviction. The criminal justice system is a human system, prone to mistakes. Even seemingly simple mistakes can put innocent persons on death row.
* An advisory referendum will not give legislators any additional quality information beyond what they are already hearing from their constituents.
* The death penalty is a violation of the basic human right to life, and the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman degrading treatment or punishment. These rights are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* There is an ever growing list of nations in the world who have abolished its use. Wisconsin would join human rights abusing countries like China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran if it were to reinstate the death penalty.
* Many persons assume that victim family members support the death penalty. However, as groups like Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation and Murder Victim Families for Human Rights point out, the death penalty can actually be detrimental to the healing process for victim families.
Action Needed: Contact your Senator before May 16 and urge them to vote no on SJR 5.
Email format is Sen. (your senator's last name)@legis.state.wi.us
Postal mail
Senator (Name)
PO Box 7882 n
Madison, WI 53707-7882
To find out who your Elected officials are:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/elected_officials>http//amnestyusa.org/elected_officials
Or < http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/ > http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/ gives your Senator's name and a direct email link and phone number.
Last option for contacting Senators is via the Legislative Hotline
The toll free, legislative hotline is an option from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
1-800-362-9472 (for Madison, 266-9960).
You can find out who your Senator is.
You can leave a short message with your Senator's name and it will be correctly routed.
For more information contact Christopher Watson, AIUSA Field Organizer for
Wisconsin: 312-435-6386 or < mailto:cwatson@aiusa.org>cwatson@aiusa.org.
Sincerely,
The Program to Abolish the Death Penalty Amnesty International USA