On Tuesday, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) vetoed a bill that would abolish capital punishment in the Cornhusker State, arguing that his executive negation was "a matter of public safety" and "also a matter of making sure the public prosecutors have the tools they need to put these dangerous hardened criminals behind bars." Legislators scheduled a vote for Wednesday afternoon to override Ricketts' veto; it's expected to be a close vote.
In the last of three votes to pass the death penalty ban, 32 members of the unicameral legislature voted yes and 15 voted no. That's two votes more than needed to overturn the veto, but at least one yes vote has since publicly changed his mind. Ricketts has been trying to get other lawmakers to switch to no, also. If the bipartisan coalition succeeds, Nebraska will be the first conservative state to abolish the death penalty in decades, joining 18 states and Washington, D.C.
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