Nebraska death penalty repealed

Posted By: Jenn Hatcher
jhatcher@klkntv.com

The governor’s attempt to leave the death penalty in place, failed.

Wednesday afternoon, Nebraska state senators voted to override the governor’s veto of LB268- which repeals the death penalty.

The override received the minimum 30 votes needed.

This repeal was a monumental moment for Omaha Senator Ernie Chambers, who’s worked for this since the 1970’s, when capitol punishment was reinstated in Nebraska.

Chambers said, “No matter how many other things I had achieved around here, had I not gotten the death penalty repealed, I would have felt it was a failure.”

Nebraska is now one of 19 states with no death penalty, one of few conservative states to make the switch.

Chambers credited republican senator, Colby Coash, who he says worked relentlessly for this bill.

In debate, Senator Coash said, “The governor in his zeal to kill people has not asked one of us to bring a bill because he knows it can not be done….. Executions are done; LB268 is the way to put it in our past and now is the time to do that.”

During the veto override vote, two senators had changed their minds from last week, when they approved the bill, Senator John Murante of Gretna and Senator Jerry Johnson of Wahoo.

Johnson said, “I still believe there’s a place for the death penalty, I believe things can be fixed.”

No one has been executed in Nebraska since 1997.

There are currently 10 inmates on death row.

This repeal, possibly changing their fate, state officials are trying to figure that out.