Death-penalty opponents are pleading with lawmakers to end capital punishment in Nebraska, appealing to their religious and financial sensibilities and arguing that the state has applied it unfairly.
Opponents asked lawmakers Wednesday to advance a repeal measure by state Sen. Ernie Chambers. Chambers, of Omaha, is the Legislature’s most outspoken death-penalty opponent.
The sister of murder victim James Thimm testified that the death penalty has prolonged her family’s suffering by keeping her brother’s killer in the public eye. Thimm’s killer, Michael Ryan, has sat on Nebraska’s death row for more than 25 years.
Chambers has three co-sponsors on the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, who together make up half of the panel.
The Nebraska County Attorneys Association opposes the bill.
This is the entirety of the article.
It would have been nice for the reporters to ask death proponents what they like about it since it’s more expensive than life imprisonment, since it’s biased with regard to both race and class, and since it doesn’t deter criminals any more than the threat of life imprisonment, and since Nebraskans can’t actually make it work.
Basically, I think it would have been interesting to hear why the “Nebraska County Attorneys Associaton opposes the bill.” I’d like to hear their spokesperson say, “It pays all of our bills and advances our careers.”
Death Penalty Foes Make Religious, Cost Argument: