Discussion for article #236591
Wow, good for them. I hope that they remain firm and override the veto.
9 Likes
“It’s certainly a matter of conscience, at least in part, but it’s also a matter of trying to be philosophically consistent,” said Sen. Laure (sic) Ebke, a Republican from Crete. “If government can’t be trusted to manage our health care … then why should it be trusted to carry out the irrevocable sentence of death?”
Damn! A conservative trying to be philosophically consistent. Pardon me while I grab my binos, go outside, and look for flying pigs.
Seriously, my hat’s off to them. And Ricketts is a world-class dick.
13 Likes
Rachel said it was going to be a race between this bill and the death penalty drugs Ricketts ordered from India ($51K + $3K S&H) to see which got delivered to the Guv’s desk first.
Good job on this one NE lawmakers and congrats to Senator Chambers … his decades of work on this finally paid off.
Now what might happen to the NE taxpayer-funded $54K in drugs … resell them to TX and OK?
9 Likes
Since it typically costs three to five times as much money to execute someone as it does to incarcerate them for life, one would think that Republican-controlled states, with their professed love of “fiscal responsibility”, would be rushing to eliminate the death penalty.
One would also think that since Republicans tend to believe that the government can’t do anything right, that eliminating the death penalty would make sense from a moral perspective.
But dammit, Republicans love killing and they really love state-sponsored killing. That usually trumps both fiscal and moral imperative.
6 Likes
I thought the families of the Boston Marathon Bomber victims had a helluva point - every time there’s an appeal the case is publicly reopened, reporters contact them, they have to go before a court or sit through hearings. The rest of their lives are dedicated to this cause, even when they don’t want it. How much better would it be to put killers in max security surrounded by televised photos of their victims so they can’t turn anywhere without seeing the person whose life they took?
3 Likes
Nebraska? The one on top of Kansas, that Nebraska?
Welcome to the enlightened modern world, Nebraska! Proud to be your neighbor!
1 Like
I’m frankly impressed and pleased by this development. Poor Gov. Ricketts will have to find another way to kill people.
3 Likes
“What is in the right hand of lady justice? It isn’t a set of keys,” said Sen. Beau McCoy, of Omaha. “In the left hand are a set of scales, scales of justice. In the right hand is a sword. It’s not a set of keys to a cell block for life in prison.”
Wait, so we should base our statutes on statues?
4 Likes
Only those of us who are statuesque.
As soon as I saw that picture I knew it was Ernie Chambers. I worked with him in Omaha over 40 years ago as a VISTA volunteer. Just one more great thing he has done for Nebraska.
6 Likes
HURRAY NEBRASKA!!!
Thank you for ushering in a new era, without cruelty!
1 Like
I say we should leave the symbols to the symbol-minded. 
Welcome to the civilized world. This is actually headline news all over the European media. We care about these isssues and we welcome anyone who’s willing to finally join the club.
Thanks. I was irritated that TPM once more chose not to caption, 'cos I thought he had such a wonderful face. Quite a guy!