'Mr. Ricketts, who fought against the repeal bill by appearing repeatedly in television interviews and urging Nebraskans to pressure their senators to oppose it, immediately denounced the vote.
“My words cannot express how appalled I am that we have lost a critical tool to protect law enforcement and Nebraska families,” he said in a statement. “While the Legislature has lost touch with the citizens of Nebraska, I will continue to stand with Nebraskans and law enforcement on this important issue.”'
The death penalty is Constitutional, and the states are at liberty use the death penalty if they so desire.
But the notion that the death penalty acts as a 'deterrent' is completely false:
'“Among the experts, there is overwhelming consensus that the death penalty never has been, is not and never could be a deterrent to homicide over and above long imprisonment,” said Michael Radelet, chairman of UF’s sociology department and a longtime researcher of death penalty issues. “The rates of consensus were much higher on this question than I ever thought possible. We never see 90 percent of criminologists agree on anything.”
Radelet said a large segment of the pro-death penalty community and numerous politicians regularly — and incorrectly — cite the death penalty’s supposed deterrent effect in their arguments for continued executions.
“
Politicians who say we need the death penalty to cut the crime rate or arguments of that sort are simply wrong,” Radelet said. “The death penalty has absolutely nothing to do with crime rates. If politicians are serious about reducing high rates of criminal violence, they’re barking up the wrong tree.”'
01 Experts Agree Death Penalty Not A Deterrent To Violent Crime University of Florida
