Governor Pete Ricketts says he’ll veto bills to repeal Nebraska’s death penalty and end mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes.
The Nebraska Legislature sent the death penalty repeal vote to Ricketts Wednesday morning on a 32-15 vote. At a news conference prior to the vote, Ricketts urged State Senators to reject the death penalty repeal, which he called bad public policy.
Those who support repealing the death penalty say it’s ineffective and the state has no way of carrying out executions. Governor Ricketts announced recently that the state had purchased the drugs needed to resume lethal injections.
If the Unicameral has enough votes to override Ricketts’ veto, Nebraska will become the 19th state that doesn’t have the death penalty.