NEBRASKA (USA): BILL TO END DEATH PENALTY ADVANCES OUT OF JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Nebraska lawmakers will once again debate the death penalty after a proposal to repeal capital punishment advanced today to the floor of the unicameral Legislature.
Although Legislative Bill 543 was expected to obtain the minimum five votes to get out of the Judiciary Committee, none of the eight members voted against it. Only Sen. Mark Christensen  abstained.
The bill would outlaw state executions and replace them with terms of life without parole.
None of the current 11 death row inmates are scheduled for execution because of a pending legal challenge involving one of the state's three lethal injection drugs.
Nebraska last executed an inmate in 1997.
It is the 37th time that Omaha Senator Ernie Chambers has introduced legislation to abolish Nebraska's death penalty.