The 40 years of work put in by Omaha Senator Ernie Chambers to repealing the Nebraska death penalty was realized in late May when the state legislature voted to overturn a gubernatorial veto of Sen. Chambers’ bill, LB268. While Governor Pete Ricketts and state Attorney General Doug Peterson both expressed considerable disappointment from the veto override, citing the death penalty as necessary for law enforcement to be most effective. The 30 votes exactly needed to override a veto came in, including from potential swing-voter Senator Tyson Larson who reported having a heavy conscience over the matter.
For more on this recent veto override, read the article in its entirety here:http://journalstar.com/legislature/article_e2ee72ab-cfe2-548c-b0f7-8a3ccf3b05fa.html.