Feb. 7, 2021 noon
(WGTD)---Philosophical differences begin to emerge when the three candidates for Kenosha Circuit Court Branch 6 weigh in on whether the criminal justice system is too punitive. Long-time Kenosha County prosecutor Angelina Gabriele, criminal defense attorney Angela Cunningham and Family Court Commissioner Elizabeth Pfeuffer debated the issues on Community Matters this past Saturday. All three have lengthy experiences in the legal system.
Moderator Len Iaquinta asked the women to respond to critics who charge that the U.S. criminal justice system is too vengeful at the expense of rehabilitative and restoration needs.
Pfeuffer, who went first, said that a stronger emphasis could be placed on deterrence and rehabilitation. "A lot of times when you hear about crimes that are committed, the public outcry is that person needs to be punished, punished, punished. And they don't want to hear other options about rehabilitation or deterrence or what not," Pfeuffer said. "And so as a court system, that's part of the role of circuit court judges is to be creative with their solutions," she said.
Gabriele cited a host of programs at the state and local level that are already in place to address the rehabilitative needs of prisoners. "We at the D-A's office have been really motivated by finding long-term solutions to crimes and that does include treatment," she said. "We participated in creating the mental health and treatment court that deals with drug addiction and mental health problems. So I think there are wide-ranging solutions and I'm open to those."
Cunningham, the only African-American in the race, said flat out that too many people are incarcerated. "I support incarceration for violent offenders but I think the majority of people who find themselves with lengthy sentences--I would like to work with the court system to try to come up with alternatives to keep our communities safe while also keeping families stable and keeping our communities stable," she said.
The Feb. 16th primary will eliminate one candidate and send two on to the general election in April.
The candidates are running for the bench currently held by Judge Mary Wagner, who is retiring.
The full program from Saturday is archived here.
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