US state lawmakers vote to abolish death penalty

[webfact]

US state lawmakers vote to abolish death penalty
GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill abolishing the death penalty that would make it the first conservative state to do so since 1973 if the measure becomes law.

The vote margin in the unicameral Legislature was more than enough to override a promised veto from Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, a staunch supporter of capital punishment, who said that it was a "dark day" for public safety.

"Nebraska has a chance to step into history — the right side of history — to take a step that will be beneficial toward the advancement of a civilized society," said Sen. Ernie Chambers, an independent who has fought for four decades to the end the death penalty.

The Nebraska vote marks a shift in the national debate because it was bolstered by conservatives who oppose the death penalty for religious reasons, cast it as a waste of taxpayer money and question whether government can be trusted to manage it. Traditionally, law-and-order conservatives in the United States have stood among the strongest supporters of the ultimate punishment.

Nebraska hasn't executed a prisoner since 1997, and some lawmakers have argued that constant legal challenges will prevent the state from doing so again.

"It's certainly a matter of conscience, at least in part, but it's also a matter of trying to be philosophically consistent," said Sen. Laure Ebke. "If government can't be trusted to manage our health care ... then why should it be trusted to carry out the irrevocable sentence of death?"

Ricketts has promised to veto the bill, requiring an override vote likely to take place next week. The governor announced last week that the state has bought new lethal injection drugs to resume executions.

"This is a case where the Legislature is completely out of touch with the overwhelming majority of Nebraskans that I talk to," Ricketts said.

Ricketts, who is serving his first year in office, argued in his weekly column Tuesday that the state's inability to carry out executions was a "management problem" that he is committed to fixing.

Maryland was the last U.S. state to end capital punishment, in 2013. Three other moderate-to-liberal states have done so in recent years: New Mexico in 2009, Illinois in 2011, Connecticut in 2012. But the last conservative state to do so was North Dakota in 1973. The death penalty now is legal in 32 states, including Nebraska, and the federal government.
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Associated Press writer Anna Gronewold contributed in Lincoln.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-21

[khwaibah]

YES SIR. Politicians going against the well of the people. Hang them.

[samran]

YES SIR. Politicians going against the well of the people. Hang them.

A veto proof majority in a conservative state. Seems as if the pollies are pretty confident they are on the right side of local public opinion on this one, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.

[brewsterbudgen]

Encouraging...

[stevenl]

YES SIR. Politicians going against the well of the people. Hang them.

Yes, since the will of the people is quite often very short term focused and self interested, sometimes wise people have to go against the will of the people.

BTW, the will of the people on this I do not know, and apparently neither does the governor, who is only referring to 'the majority of the people he talks to'.

[FangFerang]

Ironically, the most staunch supporters of the death penalty are Christian zealots and far right wing advocates who simultaneously deplore assisted suicide for un-treatable ailments.

[Chicog]

Ironically, the most staunch supporters of the death penalty are Christian zealots and far right wing advocates who simultaneously deplore assisted suicide for un-treatable ailments.

They have quite the thirst for blood as long as it is not of their ilk.

[Jingthing]

WOW the US finally coming out of the dark ages .....

Don't hold your breath.

The incarceration rates in the U.S. are at levels you would generally associate with extreme fascist regimes.

The American "justice" system is designed to basically throw away the lives of so many millions of underclass youth when they've barely begun.

Surely this is going to bite back someday. That's not how you remain a global leader -- to trash so much of your own population.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Jingthing

[riceyummm]

[jesimps]

Ironically, the most staunch supporters of the death penalty are Christian zealots and far right wing advocates who simultaneously deplore assisted suicide for un-treatable ailments.

I'm neither a zealot nor far right but I share their sentiments.

[konying]

Reading step by step guide of how Australians were executed gave me the chills.

However the thought of spending my entire life behind bars is by far more scary.

I believe death penalty should be abolished. Spending life in isolation cell is good enough punishment to last 3 life times