Wisconsin: Social Policy
within an hour. The story of Dahmer’s infamy began in 1991 and largely ended in 1994 with his death. While the Dahmer murders triggered calls to reinstate capital punishment, drops in crime rates made it difficult to present rational arguments for reinstatement. In October 1995, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported: “Murder, rape and robbery rates dropped sharply in Milwaukee during the first six months of 1995, leading a statewide decline in nearly all categories of crime, according to a report released Tuesday by the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance.” 53 The trend toward lower murder rates in Wisconsin continued in 1996 when the number of murders reported by Wisconsin police departments showed a 4 percent drop from the year before, the lowest total since 1989 when 176 murders were reported.54 In addition to declining murder rates, in 1988, Wisconsin passed a murder penalty stipulating “life means life” without parole, a tough and certain alternative to capital punishment.55
Recent Legislative History, 1991–1996 During the course of three legislative sessions spanning February 6, 1991, through February 23, 1996, assembly and senate members introduced twenty-two bills and resolutions to reinstate the death penalty: five bills or resolutions in the 1991–92 session, nine bills or resolutions in the 1993–94 session, and eight bills or resolutions in the 1995–96 session.
The 1991–1992 Legislative Session As the Wisconsin legislature opened the 1991–92 session, an article titled “Death Penalty Erodes Struggle for Humanity” appeared in the Madison Newspapers, Inc., which succinctly summarized the dominant political views of the press.56 The article acknowledged that “Dahmer’s case has given new impetus to the movement for adding capital punishment to Wisconsin’s repertoire of punishments.” However, the “heart of the debate is whether society acting through the government ought to deliberately take the life of another human being.” 57 In 1991,
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