In a recent University of Wisconsin Badger Poll, more respondents favored a sentence of life without parole rather than the death penalty. Only 45% supported capital punishment, while 50% favored life sentences. When asked about the death penalty in theory, without any alternative sentences mentioned, 55.6% of Wisconsinites polled favored capital punishment for “cases involving a person who is convicted of first degree intentional homicides, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence.” In a non-binding November referendum, voters will consider the reinstatement of the death penalty in the state. The Badger Poll questioned 508 persons and has a margin of error of +/-4%.
(Badger Poll Release, July 17, 2006). See Public Opinion and Life Without Parole.
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). PUBLIC OPINION: Wisconsin Voters Favor Life Without Parole Over Death Penalty. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-wisconsin-voters-favor-life-without-parole-over-death-penalty
- Death Penalty Information Center. “PUBLIC OPINION: Wisconsin Voters Favor Life Without Parole Over Death Penalty.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-wisconsin-voters-favor-life-without-parole-over-death-penalty.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “PUBLIC OPINION: Wisconsin Voters Favor Life Without Parole Over Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-wisconsin-voters-favor-life-without-parole-over-death-penalty. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.
