Nebraska bans death penalty. Will rest of U.S. follow?

(The Christian Science Monitor) It took more than 40 years, but a Republican-controlled state has once again abolished the death penalty.

In a 30-to-19 vote that cut across party lines, Nebraska lawmakers on Wednesday overrode Gov. Pete Ricketts’s veto of their bill to repeal capital punishment, making the state the first predominantly conservative one to do so since North Dakota in 1973.

The vote, which comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle find common ground on a number of criminal justice issues, reflects what experts have said is growing opposition to the death penalty among Republican lawmakers—even though surveys show that a majority of conservative voters still favor capital punishment.