Nebraska legislators on Wednesday overrode the Republican governor's veto to repeal the state's death penalty, a major victory for a small but growing conservative movement to end executions.
Mother Jones reports that,
"The push to end capital punishment divided Nebraska conservatives, with 18 conservatives joining the legislature's liberals to provide the 30 to 19 vote to override Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto—barely reaching the 30 votes necessary for repeal.
Today's vote makes Nebraska 'the first predominantly Republican state to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years,' said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, in a statement shortly after the vote. Dunham's statement singled out conservatives for rallying against the death penalty and said their work in Nebraska is 'part of an emerging trend in the Republican Party.' (Nebraska has a unicameral, nonpartisan legislature, so lawmakers do not have official party affiliations.)
For conservative opponents of the death penalty, Wednesday's vote represents a breakthrough."
Our interview with Kirk Bloodsworth goes to show that innocent people sometimes get sentenced to death. Nebraska's move is a huge step in the right direction.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC its affiliates, or its employees.
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