Death penalty opponents had hoped Nebraska could serve as an example for other conservative states that are considering abolition, but placing the issue before voters could demonstrate that the public still supports capital punishment.
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Rob Edwards is with the group Nebraskans for the Death Penalty and he said, “We turned in 166,692 signatures, which is astounding”. “I believe it’s especially important to have overshot the 10 percent figure by this margin to make it clear that the repeal of the death penalty will not become law until voters have spoken at the ballot box and to limit new avenues for appeal of death penalty sentences”.
Nebraskans for the Death Penalty announced Wednesday that they have gathered enough signatures to force a repeal vote on the newly enacted state law eliminating capital punishment. The secretary of state’s office will then send the boxes to counties, which have 40 days to verify all of the signatures. “I think it’s healthy for the state of Nebraska”.
One Nebraska woman, who says three of her loved ones have been murdered, thinks Nebraskans need to educate themselves on the issue.
The signature gathering campaign leaders say they’ve spent around $600,000 on the effort so far, and expect to spend around $800,000 by the time they’re finished, similar to the minimum wage petition effort.
Organizers of the petition drive said they expected to have no problem meeting the additional threshold of signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in at least 38 counties.
The likely referendum could prompt both sides to pour money into the state in hopes of swaying voters, said Douglas Berman, an Ohio State University law professor and death penalty expert. The success of the petition drive is a testament to the strong support of Nebraskans for keeping the death penalty but also to the volunteers from Omaha to Chadron and Fairbury to Pierce.
Debate about executions has revived in recent years across the United States after a number of troubled lethal injections.
While most Americans continue to back capital punishment, the Nebraska Legislature’s vote featured a vocal a conservative argument against it, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center. The governor had given $200,000 to Nebraskans for the Death Penalty as of the last filing deadline on July 31, while his father had donated $100,000.
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The announcement of the number of signatures caps an 82-day petition drive backed by Ricketts and his father, TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. “The message that conservative legislators can reach across the aisle with moderate and liberal legislators – that message is still there and still resonates”.
