GREEN BAY (AP) - Those who investigate deaths in Wisconsin could face tougher licensing restrictions under a proposal aimed at preventing missteps that might impede a criminal investigation.
Supporters want coroners and medical examiners to be licensed and receive 40 hours of training. They also want the state to create a board that oversees the state's elected coroners and sets requirements for continuing education, the Press-Gazette Media reported Saturday.
Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that doesn't require that coroners and medical examiners have specific training.
The proposal is aimed at counties where coroners are elected to office. The proposed changes must still clear a number of legislative hurdles.
Republican state Rep. Chad Weininger said the current lack of a training requirement means anyone could get elected, regardless of training.
"What that could mean is that somebody down the road could get away with murder," he said.
The daughter of a man who died in Monroe County in 2010 wonders if that already happened. Robert Lichtie died after a fall that family members consider suspicious, but a coroner allowed his body to be cremated before authorities could rule out foul play.
"We had so many questions regarding his death that went unanswered," Tya Lichtie said.
Brown County Sheriff John Gossage said the proposal might lead people to impose requirements for officials elected to other offices.
But Weininger noted that certain offices already have requirements. For example, to be a district attorney a person has to be licensed to practice law in Wisconsin.
Supporters want coroners and medical examiners to be licensed and receive 40 hours of training. They also want the state to create a board that oversees the state's elected coroners and sets requirements for continuing education, the Press-Gazette Media reported Saturday.
Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that doesn't require that coroners and medical examiners have specific training.
The proposal is aimed at counties where coroners are elected to office. The proposed changes must still clear a number of legislative hurdles.
Republican state Rep. Chad Weininger said the current lack of a training requirement means anyone could get elected, regardless of training.
"What that could mean is that somebody down the road could get away with murder," he said.
The daughter of a man who died in Monroe County in 2010 wonders if that already happened. Robert Lichtie died after a fall that family members consider suspicious, but a coroner allowed his body to be cremated before authorities could rule out foul play.
"We had so many questions regarding his death that went unanswered," Tya Lichtie said.
Brown County Sheriff John Gossage said the proposal might lead people to impose requirements for officials elected to other offices.
But Weininger noted that certain offices already have requirements. For example, to be a district attorney a person has to be licensed to practice law in Wisconsin.