Bill ending Nebraska's death penalty advances

Bill ending Nebraska's death penalty advances - The Nebraska Legislature will once again debate whether to repeal the state's capital punishment law. Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee voted 6-1 to advance a bill that would replace the death sentence with a mandatory sentence of life without parole. State Sen. Pete Pirsch was the only committee member to vote against advancing Legislative Bill 1063 for debate. He said an amendment adopted today did not address prosecutors' concerns about the proposed repeal. State Sen. Ernie Chambers is the bill's sponsor. Last year, a Chambers-backed bill to repeal capital punishment was debated by the full Legislature but died after falling one vote short on first-round debate.