• There is no question that the up front costs of the death penalty are significantly higher than for equivalent Life without parole cases.

• Some outcomes of death penalty cases are due incompetent attorneys and representation

• Since the reinstatement of the modern death penalty, 87 people have been freed from death row because they were later proven innocent. That is a demonstrated error rate of 1 innocent person for every 7 persons executed.

• There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than long terms of imprisonment.

• An advantage of death penalty is that death penalty serves as a final closure for victim’s family. Families of victims often feel traumatized knowing that the perpetrator is still alive and would rather see the perpetrator dead.

• Prisons in the United States (U.S.) have become overpopulated with excessive amount of prisoners. California prisons were ordered by district court panel to release or transfer more than 33,000 inmates due to overcrowding in 2011. The death penalty may be more preferable as it is beneficial to execute dangerous criminals than to be forced to release such offenders into society, who were serving life sentences, due to overpopulation.

• Feb 8, 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court rules that the electric chair violates the state’s constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. At the time, Nebraska was the only state with electrocution as the sole means of execution.

• Sept. 1, 2009, during a special session, the Legislature makes lethal injection the state’s new method of execution. The state’s effort to use lethal injection on two death row inmates have so far been thwarted by appeals.

• May 14, 2013, a bill to abolish the death penalty, once again championed by Chambers, dies after supporters cannot obtain the 33 votes needed to end a filibuster

• December 2013, Nebraska’s supply of sodium thiopental, one of three drugs required for lethal injection in Nebraska, expires. The drug is no longer made domestically, and it has become the target of successful legal challenges. Attorney General Doug Peterson has said he’s seeking a solution to restore the state’s ability to carry out capital punishment.

• April 16, 2015, Nebraska Legislature votes 30-13 to advance Legislative Bill 268 from first-round debate. Chambers’ bill would replace lethal injection with life in prison. Death penalty supporters plan to fight in the second round of debate to keep Nebraska among the 32 states with capital punishment. Gov. Pete Ricketts has promised a veto if the bill makes it to his desk.

• May 27, 2015, Legislature votes 30-19 to override Gov. Ricketts’s veto of LB 268. With the override, the death penalty is abolished in Nebraska

Capital punishment is costly, ineffective, unfair and something they no longer want in a state that hasn’t actually carried out and execution since 1977. Nebraska’s supply of sodium  thiopental has expired, which is no longer made domestically, and Europe refuses to sell theirs for capital punishment.

Senator Pete Ricketts

"Pros & Cons: Death Penalty - The Pros & Cons." The Pros Cons. N.p., 17 June 2014. Web. 17 June 2015. <http://theproscons.com/pros-cons-death-penalty/>.

Stanglin, Doug. "Nebraska Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Death Penalty." USA Today. Gannett, 20 May 2015. Web. 17 June 2015. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/20/nebraska-death-penalty-lawmakers-gov-ricketts-veto-threat/27649781/>.

"Timeline: Death Penalty in Nebraska." Omaha.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2015. <http://www.omaha.com/timeline-death-penalty-in-nebraska/article_a7eea3de-ff38-11e4-8495-8b19572cbdb5.html>.

"Top 10 Pros and Cons - Death Penalty - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2015. <http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000>.