Sen. Al Lasee (R‑DePere) of Wisconsin was the author of legislation that placed a non-binding referendum on the death penalty on the state’s ballot in Tuesday’s election. Although 56% of the voters approved the death penalty proposal, which required that DNA evidence confirm the conviction, Lasee said there was no chance of such a law passing in the near future: “I am a realist. There is no prospect,” said Lasee , a longtime supporter of capital punishment. “The Democrats took control of the Senate and Gov. Doyle got re-elected.” The governor opposes the death penalty and could veto any bill enacting capital punishment. Lasee guided the advisory referendum through the Legislature when both houses were controlled by Republicans and he was president of the Senate. He conceded that the DNA evidence requirement would probably have been dropped from an eventual bill.
(The Capital Times (WI), Nov. 8, 2006). See Recent Legislation.
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). Author of Wisconsin Death Penalty Referendum Says Law Has No Chance of Passing. Retrieved October 25, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/author-of-wisconsin-death-penalty-referendum-says-law-has-no-chance-of-passing
- Death Penalty Information Center. “Author of Wisconsin Death Penalty Referendum Says Law Has No Chance of Passing.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 25, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/author-of-wisconsin-death-penalty-referendum-says-law-has-no-chance-of-passing.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “Author of Wisconsin Death Penalty Referendum Says Law Has No Chance of Passing.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/author-of-wisconsin-death-penalty-referendum-says-law-has-no-chance-of-passing. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.
