Nebraska lawmakers abolish death penalty with exact vote count required to override governor's veto
Image from Shutterstock.
Nebraska lawmakers abolished the death penalty on Wednesday, as the state’s unicameral legislature overrode a veto by the Republican governor in a 30-19 bipartisan vote.
The 30 votes to override the veto of Legislative Bill 268 were the exact minimum required to do so. At one point, the vote was tied, 13-13, before those in favor of abolition began adding up, the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) reports.
The New York Times (reg. req.), the Omaha World-Herald and the Washington Post (reg. req.) also have stories.
The political push to eliminate capital punishment in the Republican-dominated state senate came from conservatives. However, the issue was controversial, and Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts said after the vote that he was “appalled” by a decision that eliminates what he described as a critical law-enforcement tool supported by most residents of the state.
“This has been the hardest issue that I have confronted during my time here in the Unicameral,” Sen. John Murante, who changed his vote Wednesday, told the World-Herald. “I pledged to do my best to vote the way the majority of my constituents want, and it has become obvious to me that the majority support Gov. Ricketts’ veto.”
Another Republican senator has formed a group to explore the possibility of launching a ballot measure to allow Nebraskans to vote on the death penalty.
Shari Silberstein, executive director of Equal Justice USA, a national bipartisan organization that opposes capital punishment, thinks Nebraska’s action will prompt other states to change. “Americans have been moving away from executions for more than 10 years,” she said in a press release. “but now we have a red state turning that trend into law for the first time in 40 years.”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Nebraska lawmakers vote to repeal death penalty”
ABAJournal.com: “Nebraska governor vetoes bill abolishing death penalty; are there enough votes for an override?”
ABA Journal: “Faith and fiscal responsibility cause many conservatives to change their view of the death penalty”
Updated May 28 to include quote from Silberstein.
