Nebraska bans death penalty. Will rest of US follow?
Nebraska lawmakers on Wednesday voted to repeal capital punishment, making the state the first conservative one to do so since 1973.
Neb. state Sen. Ernie Chambers, right, of Omaha, celebrates with Sen. Kathy Campbell, left, of Lincoln, after the one-house Legislature voted 30-19 to override Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who supports the death penalty. The vote makes Nebraska the first traditionally conservative state to eliminate the punishment since North Dakota in 1973.
Nati Harnik/AP Photo
It took more than 40 years, but a Republican-controlled state has once again abolished the death penalty.
In a 30-to-19 vote that cut across party lines, Nebraska lawmakers on Wednesday overrode Gov. Pete Ricketts鈥檚 veto of their bill to repeal capital punishment, making the state the first conservative one to do so since North Dakota in 1973.
The vote, which comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle find common ground on a number of criminal justice issues, reflects what experts have said is growing opposition to the death penalty among Republican lawmakers 鈥� even though surveys show that a majority of conservative voters still favor capital punishment.
That majority, however, is smaller than it once was. Overall vote support for the death penalty has declined gradually over the last 20 years and is at the lowest it鈥檚 been in the last 40, according to the most recent . Among conservative legislators, the reasons for switching sides run from the fiscal to the philosophical.
More studies are showing that cases that seek the death penalty are than those that don鈥檛. The scarcity of lethal injection drugs 鈥� and the botched executions that followed the use of non-FDA approved cocktails 鈥� have also of the capital punishment system.
At the same time, some Republican lawmakers have begun to question whether supporting the death penalty is consistent with conservative values.
鈥淚t's certainly a matter of conscience, at least in part, but it's also a matter of trying to be philosophically consistent,鈥� Nebraska state Sen. Laure Ebke, (R) of Crete, Neb., . 鈥淚f government can鈥檛 be trusted to manage our health care ... then why should it be trusted to carry out the irrevocable sentence of death?鈥�
In Nebraska, part of the Republican support for repeal was fueled by the 14 new conservative senators in the state鈥檚 unicameral legislature 鈥� a group that has 鈥渟hown a willingness to buck old ideas on issues including the death penalty,鈥� LA Times reporter Michael Muskal .
Despite the emerging trend, however, nearly 60 percent of Americans still favor capital punishment, according to Pew. And opinion is split along party lines, with nearly four in five Republicans remaining in favor of the death penalty compared to only about two in five Democrats.
Gov. Ricketts, a Republican who remains a staunch death penalty advocate, expressed his disappointment with what he said was the state legislature鈥檚 failure to connect with Nebraskans.
鈥淢y words cannot express how appalled I am that we have lost a critical tool to protect law enforcement and Nebraska families,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淲hile the Legislature has lost touch with the citizens of Nebraska, I will continue to stand with Nebraskans and law enforcement on this important issue.鈥�
While it鈥檚 unclear whether or not other Republican-dominated states are set to follow in Nebraska鈥檚 footsteps, the vote does mark a turning point, and could empower other conservatives to make a decisive shift towards opposition, Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told the Monitor.
鈥淭he conservative Republicans鈥� positions as expressed in Nebraska are basically a microcosm of what鈥檚 going on with conservatives about the death penalty nationwide,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 worth noting that broader social trends also factor into public sentiment about the death penalty. Historically, spikes in support for capital punishment have followed upticks in crime and violence and growing fear in the wake of high-profile assassinations and other concerns, such as the 鈥渞ed scare鈥� of the 1950s, . Conversely, death penalty opposition tends to gain ground after news of wrongful convictions and executions.
The events in Nebraska also reflect another trend: Bipartisan support for criminal justice reform. Across the nation, liberals and conservatives have been coming together on issues that range from limiting traffic fines to cracking down on civil asset forfeiture to easing mandatory prison time, The New York Times .
鈥淭he need to reform the broken U.S. criminal-justice system is fast becoming the rare cause for which Washington鈥檚 warring factions will lay down their weapons and work together,鈥� .