Nebraska Death Penalty Column

Here is my column that was published in the April 4 edition of the Creightonian. I wanted to emphasize the urgency that is needed to solve this problem Readers may want to check out a story in the Omaha World Herald and the Nebraska Unicameral Web site for more information. Tell you me your reactions to the story. Do you think I should have included advocacy information for pro-death penalty supporters? The column was meant to encourage political participation, and I did not want to get in a debate over the correctness of the death penalty.

Death penalty divides state Court and Legislature

Let’s make a difference.

No, this is not another Obama transcript from the campaign trail or a speech from your RSP advisor.
But now Creighton students have a unique opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the state in which we live.

Nebraska lingers in death penalty limbo: We have capital punishment but no way to implement it.
The state Supreme Court called “Old Sparky” the electric chair cruel and unusual punishment, but a majority in the Legislature still wants to kill some criminals.

Last week, a bill, LB1063, which would have banned the death penalty was rejected by the Unicameral. Five votes defeated the bill.

To make matters more complicated, Gov. Dave Heinenman released a press statement on his Web site.

“I believe it is now time to move forward,” he said. “Our focus now should be on deciding a legal method of execution for Nebraska.”

However, his efforts to reinstate the death penalty. may be all for nought. Seven out eight members on the Judiciary Committee supported the anti-death penalty bill, so they could possibly pigeon-hole any lethal injection bill supported by the governor.

It takes 30 votes to wrench a bill from a stalling committee–only 28 state senators voted against the bill. Thus, two senators need convincing to adopt lethal injection or five to abolish capital punishment all together.

How will Nebraska pull itself out from this public policy standstill?

This quagmire calls for civic engagement.

While I believe that the state should not engage in the business of killing its own citizens and that the Catholic Church firmly backs this stance, our predicament allows for advocacy on both sides of the issues.

We can e-mail our state senators at http://nebraskalegislature.gov/web/public/contact.

In addition, Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty, and Creighton Students for Life who work cooperate on advocacy projects, plan to continue its opposition to the state’s current policy. Visit their Web site at www.nadp.net for more information.

I could not find any pro-death penalty advocacy groups in Omaha. Justice For All is a Texas based organization, which does some national organizing and petitioning. For more information, visit its Web site at http://www.jfa.net/deathpenalty.html

These are by no means all the resources out there; however, they provide a starting point for students to judge such an important issue and apply their efforts to create an effective political outcome.

And although tracing the skeletal structure of 3,4 dihydroxyphenylacetate or memorizing Thomas Aquinas’s “Quinquae viae” are important undertakings, 10 men currently wait on death row.

Our actions will have real-world consequences.