Instating the death penalty would not just be dangerous to innocent citizens, but also bad policy for Wisconsin as a state. The death penalty costs more. After appeals, expert witnesses, and lab tests, a death penalty case can cost up to $90 million.,”

We need to consider carefully the death penalty referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Instating the death penalty would not just be dangerous to innocent citizens, but also bad policy for Wisconsin as a state. The death penalty costs more. After appeals, expert witnesses and lab tests, a death penalty case can cost up to $90 million. Several U.S. counties have gone bankrupt because of a single case.

Neither does the death penalty effectively deter crime. Crime hasn't decreased in the U.S. since capital punishment was reinstated in the 1970s, nor is crime lower in states with the death penalty than in states without it. In fact, the South, which accounts for 80 percent of executions, has the highest murder rate of any region.

In Wisconsin especially the death penalty is unnecessary, since Wisconsin has recently enacted tougher sentencing requirements for murder cases. Life without parole will ensure that no future crime will be committed.

The death penalty's strongest deterrent is that it condemns, and will continue to condemn, innocent people. The referendum states that only crimes "supported by DNA evidence" will be considered.

This policy would actually damage the security of its citizens, by allowing them to live in a state that doesn't effectively protect their fundamental right to life. Just ask any of the 123 individuals exonerated from death row since 1973 if they felt like their rights were protected. They spent an average of 9.2 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. However, they were lucky. Many individuals lost their entire lives, despite suspicion of innocence. One juror's response to new evidence after a wrongful conviction of death: "Did anybody know about this prior to his execution? Now I will have to live with this for the rest of my life. Maybe this man was innocent" (Cameron Willingham's 1992 case).

While crimes that create a victim are tragedies, and the criminal justice system should respond with care, creating a new victim is not a solution. Protect the rights of citizens by jailing convicted felons, but also protect their rights by keeping the criminal justice system effective and truly just. Vote against enacting the death penalty in Wisconsin on Nov. 7.

Griffith is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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