From the Lincoln Journal-Star:

People and groups from across the state will come together to formally oppose efforts to stop the repeal of Nebraska’s death penalty, the coalition announced Thursday.

Nebraskans for Public Safety is asking Nebraskans to decline to sign a petition that would allow people to vote in 2016 on whether the state should have a death penalty. Depending on how many signatures are collected, the petition also could stop the repeal from being enacted until the vote.

The coalition includes Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the Nebraska Innocence Project, ACLU of Nebraska, faith leaders, conservative leaders and the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, according to a news release.

Other supporting groups and individuals will be announced during the referendum campaign, said Kevin O’Hanlon, spokesman for Nebraskans for Public Safety.

Read the full story.

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

Forty years of work, piles of research, conversations and debate finally brought results Wednesday afternoon for the senator from Omaha’s near north side.

“No matter how many other things I have achieved while here, had I not gotten the death penalty repealed I would have felt it was a failure,” Sen. Ernie Chambers told reporters after a historic vote that saw 29 colleagues give just enough support to override a Republican governor’s veto of his bill (LB268) that repealed the state’s death penalty.

Read the full story.

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

Following a solemn debate that flashed fiery at the end, the Legislature on Wednesday passed a landmark bill to abolish the death penalty in Nebraska with sufficient support to override a gubernatorial veto.

The bill (LB268), sponsored by Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, was approved on a 32-15 count following a 34-14 vote to end a last-gasp filibuster by opponents.

Thirty votes eventually will be required to override a promised veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Wednesday’s historic vote may have signaled the end of a long journey for Chambers, who has been attempting to eliminate the death penalty for four decades.

“This is it,” he said as he entered the legislative chamber to begin the debate.

In 1979, Chambers won legislative approval of death penalty repeal, but the bill fell victim to a veto by Gov. Charles Thone.

Chambers told his colleagues they were on the cusp of writing history and it was a marked change of position among conservative legislators that made the difference.

“Nebraska will step into history” if the death penalty is eliminated here, he said. “It would be the first so-called conservative state to do so.”

Read the full story.

Read more about Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

A bill that would repeal the death penalty moved Friday to final reading, but a leading opponent said the fight on the bill would continue for another two rounds, if needed.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers called the vote to advance the bill on second round another step on an arduous journey, “but a step of historical significance.”

Such a bill hasn’t passed since 1979, but that was vetoed by then-Gov. Charles Thone. A similar bill by Chambers in 2013 failed to get to a vote, with 28 of the 33 needed to end a filibuster against it.

This time, 30 senators voted to advance the bill to final reading, after breaking the filibuster with 34 votes. If senators stick with their votes, it would be enough to override an expected veto from Gov. Pete Ricketts.

“When something is of truly historical significance, it is not because of one individual or one act,” Chambers said.

Read the full story.

From the Omaha World-Herald:

Most people spent New Year’s Eve 1999 either celebrating or worrying about Y2K — the impact of the new millennium on everyday life.

Never one to follow convention, Margaret Sheehan Fitzgerald Gallagher did something different: With her stepdaughter, she traveled to Nevada and joined a nuclear weapons protest at a testing site. She was 81 at the time.

Friends and relatives expected nothing less. Gallagher, known as Peg, had a passion for social justice issues such as racism, the death penalty and wars she considered to be unjust.

“War and violence — she was just completely and utterly against it,” said granddaughter Joan Manriquez of New York City. “She spent a lot of time and energy protesting that.”

Read the full story.

Read Peg’s obituary.

From Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:

Huge Victory. Act Now!

On April 16, 2015, the Nebraska Unicameral debated the bill to repeal the death penalty. After a morning of passionate discussion, Senator Chambers called for a vote on the bill. LB 268 passed with sweeping support from 30 senators, with only 13 voting against it!

What an exciting day! Read coverage from the Lincoln Journal Star.

We are now past the first hurdle toward passing the bill. However, it is more crucial than ever that you contact your Senator. We have to win two more votes before the bill goes to the Governor’s desk. And if the Governor vetoes the bill as he promised, we need to hold on to all 30 of those votes to override it. They must hear from you! Our partners at EJUSA created a simple form to thank your Senator for their support of repeal, or to tell them you are disappointed with their “no” vote. Simply follow this link, enter you information, and get the message to your Senator! We’ve come a long way to repeal the death penalty, but we’ve still got a battle to fight. We couldn’t do this without you, our dedicated supporters.

Thanks for all that you do! Let’s keep the pressure on our representatives!