Nebraska Abolishes Death Penalty
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From the Left
Nebraska is the first conservative state in 40 years to ban the death penalty
Nebraska's conservative legislators "argued that the death penalty is a wasteful and ineffective government program that costs too much and accomplishes too little," according to Robert Dunham, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. That's probably correct: because of intense and extended litigation, imposing the death penalty in the US is significantly more expensive than sentencing someone to life without parole.
This argument, al
From the Center
Nebraska Lawmakers Pass Bill Abolishing State’s Death Penalty
Nebraska on Wednesday became the seventh state since 2007 to scrap the death penalty, the latest sign of weakening support for capital punishment in statehouses across the country.
The move was driven by a bipartisan group of legislators, who argued that the death penalty had grown inefficient and ineffective. Nebraska hadn’t executed anyone since 1997, and until recently had struggled to get the drugs needed to carry out executions.
On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts—who lobbied to retain capital punis
From the Right
Nebraska Becomes 19th US State to Halt Death Penalty
Nebraska lawmakers voted to overturn their governor's veto and abolish the death penalty Wednesday, becoming the nineteenth US state to do so.
The bill was carried by 30 votes to 19, a large enough majority to override the objections of Nebraska's Republican governor, Peter Ricketts, and pass into law.
Nebraska's legislature had previously voted to repeal capital punishment in the state on April 17 and May 20, but Ricketts had vetoed the legislation.