In a stunning final vote in the Nebraska Unicameral, the coalition of Republicans and Democrats that oppose the death penalty voted 30-19 (with zero abstentions) to override Governor Pete Ricketts's veto of LB-268. Thirty votes were required to overturn Mr. Ricketts's veto.
The bill was introduced by Senator Ernie Chambers of Omaha (I), and is the result of forty years of work to overturn the death penalty in our state.
Nebraska becomes the first conservative-run state since 1973 (North Dakota) to overturn the death penalty.
Huffington Post has an article on the final result here.
"Nebraska's vote marks the end of the death penalty in the United States," Shari Silberstein, executive director of Equal Justice USA, said in a statement. "Americans have been moving away from executions for more than ten years, but now we have a red state turning that trend into law for the first time in 40 years. Nebraska has shown the nation what happens when you put aside partisan politics and embrace simple common sense. The death penalty was already on its last legs, but it's hard to imagine that it has any staying power left after this."
Just one day earlier, the governor had urged senators to uphold his veto and had called the death penalty "important for public safety."
So my wife and I did not get out of the country to see this happen while we are on our road trip to Germany and Poland; we are in the Black Hills of South Dakota tonight.
Officially, the bill is listed as "Becomes law notwithstanding the objections of the Governor."
My own senator, Ken Schilz (R-district 47) voted to uphold the Mr. Ricketts's veto.
The ten men who are on death row (the eleventh died a few days ago in prison) will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Wed May 27, 2015 at 9:58 PM MT: Meteor Blades reported on this in his diary here. I did not see it until after I published, but I am the guy from Nebraska and I was on the road so I get a pass. (::